indian highway feb 2013

INDIAN HIGHWAYSA REVIEW OF ROAD AND ROAD TRANSPORT DEVELOPMENT

The Indian Roads CongressE-mail: secretarygen@irc.org.in/indianhighways@irc.org.in

Founded : December 1934IRC Website: www.irc.org.in

Jamnagar House, Shahjahan Road,New Delhi - 110 011Tel : Secretary General: +91 (11) 2338 6486Sectt. : (11) 2338 5395, 2338 7140, 2338 4543, 2338 6274Fax : +91 (11) 2338 1649

Kama Koti Marg, Sector 6, R.K. PuramNew Delhi - 110 022Tel : Secretary General : +91 (11) 2618 5303Sectt. : (11) 2618 5273, 2617 1548, 2671 6778,2618 5315, 2618 5319, Fax : +91 (11) 2618 3669

No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means without prior written permission from the Secretary General.

Edited and Published by Shri Vishnu Shankar Prasad on behalf of the Indian Roads Congress (IRC), New Delhi. The responsibility of the contents and the opinions expressed in Indian Highways is exclusively of the author/s concerned. IRC and the Editor disclaim responsibility and liability for any statement of opinion, originality of contents and of any copyright violations by the authors. The opinions expressed in the papers and contents published in the Indian Highways do not necessarily represent the views of the Editor or IRC.

VOLuME 41 NuMbER 2 FEbRuARY 2013 CONTENTS ISSN 0376-7256

2-5 Editorial

6-54 Highlights of 73rd Annual Session held at Coimbatore from 7th to 11th January 2013

Technical Papers

55 Issues Related to “ Forest Clearance” for Road and Highway Projects Niraj Sharma, Rajni Dhyani, Sumi Biswas and Anil Singh

76 Output and Performance Based Contracts - An Overview Anil Kumar Sharma

82 Spatial Planning of Hierarchial Road Network Using GIS Based SDSS K-Means Clustering Technique K.M. Lakshmana Rao and K. Jayasree

101-103 Circular’s Issued by Ministry

2 INDIAN HIGHWAYS, FEBRUARY 2013

Dear Readers,

“Consider it pure joy my brothers whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its works so that you may be mature and complete not lacking anything”.

(Quotes from Bible)

Today the road sector is facing challenging situations on many fronts. The road sector strives to provide connectivity to people even in remotest and challenging locations. It is a sector which resembles conviction, commitment, grit & passion. It promotes and helps in creating a just & inclusive society. A complex debatable issue – (many may agree with it) - with economic and socio – cultural dimensions.

The planning of road projects even though looks very simple, is a highly complex exercise. The intricacies of planning road projects need to be understood in right perspective. Its complexities also to take into account the needed expertise, experience, operational efficiency, meaningful solutions to the existing problems & issues for all the stake-holders, linkage of material/plants & machineries, organizational limitations, etc. The issue like “Outcome Oriented Strategies” and innovations are normally not given their due place in this sector, may be due to insufficient attention to the training and institutional strengthening approach.

Therefore, need of the hour may be a sustainability strategy in the road sector and setting goals of “net positives” across its implementation process. Evolving a participatory and collaborative approach may be one of the ways to start with a unique planning concept to identify effective long term “win-win-win solutions” to all. At time of economic difficulty (as is being experienced globally now), it is generally stated to take/adapt “painful decisions”. However, using such phrases normally makes people apprehensive and the decisions taken are seen/viewed with a skeptical angle. Why the phrases like “practicability derived optimistic/ pragmatism approach based decisions” are not propagated to instill a sense of confidence and a feeling of security rather than fear & anxiety in people/industry/investors. It is to mention that “practical & pragmatism drives much of the world”, however, nothing moves anywhere without a little push. But reluctance to acknowledge this positive approach in the planning process induces stress in the system. One may just like to remember: “sincere attempt is more important than the achievements as this route opens the path to the destination”.

Qualitatively new approach of precious partnership between planners, policy makers and people for sustainability of cooperation between different stakeholders in the road sector may have its own advantages. This transformation may open multi-dimensional and deeper partnership among all stakeholders. Such privileged strategy allows to form a robust system which may be having the strength to tackle any problem even in the event of severest global economic crisis.

From the Editor’s Desk

ROAD INFRASTRuCTuRE PLANNING – WAY FORWARD

INDIAN HIGHWAYS, FEBRUARY 2013 3

EDITORIAL

The wise men have said “do not fight the future but works towards continuous improvement to survive and thrive in the times of rapid change”. This is true to the road sector as well in the current scenario and it can be achieved through a new planning approach built on the past achievements. The strength and weakness needs to be critically examined without criticizing the achievements and failures but to built upon the strengths and to overcome the failures of the past by introduction of mandatory “safety net”. This will help in framing the planning and policy on evidence based inputs rather than on empirical approach. Such an approach would make it reasonably certain that planning and policy would nudge society into a certain pattern of behavior. It entails an open mind an ability to listen to society and capacity to engage into inputs received.

Road sector is hardly seen as a “Game Changer” for an economy. The transformation of an economy from lower income to upper middle income takes many decades. There are countries which have grown very fast with higher GDP growth rate for a few years but only very few countries could sustain the higher GDP growth rate for a decade. If one closely looks into their growth pattern, then one finds that one sector which has fueled these economies is none other than the road sector. In today’s scenario like any other fast growing economies, India has to constantly work at meeting the new challenges that arises from both outside and inside the country such as global financial crisis, international oil prices, scarcity of resources, etc. Therefore, road sector may also, like any other sector of the economy, have to perpetually re-evaluate the existing planning and policies so as to constantly change and move on the challenges of faster growth rate.

The current global economic transition demands a visionary approach in the road sector. The planning framework in the road sector needs approach towards preparedness in : short-medium range future, medium range future and medium to long term future. This will help in assessing and assimilating impact of changing investment environment as well as impact of new technologies besides preparing the sector for plausible worst case scenario. Has this sector have the requisite strength to meet the eventualities in 5 years/10 years hence and in 2030? Is this sector is able to contribute effectively towards balanced development of all regions? Is it bringing all regions at par in developmental pedestal? Is this sector is equipped to meet with the “challenges of the negative effect” of faster growth rate? The recent issue in regard to scarcity of sand for construction of roads is a trivial example. This demand for having a planning framework which allow adapting and evolving a system that ensure either new sources of the material resources or there is enough incentive for innovations in developing the substitutes. However, growth will be hampered unless such institutional adaption and reforms are not thought of. The planning in the road sector demands preparedness towards tackling global environmental risks as well as global economic risks. It should have ability to adapt/or recover from economic and environmental risks, as today’s global challenge is for resource and efficient growth based development. The demand for resources is growing faster than the deposits of their reserves and therefore, there is an urgent need to explore innovative solutions to boost efficient practices and minimize unsustainable consumption patterns.

Therefore, new ways of optimizing the resource utilization may be thought of by conducting “energy consumption audit, “resizing of machinery/equipments”, etc. in the road sector instead of resorting

EDITORIAL

to austerity measures which puts a break on growth and development. Is the planning process in road sector is conducive for channelizing of resource especially the funds towards their optimal deployment? This can be to some extent can be evaluated by carrying out concurrent technical audit during the entire implementation process of the road project. This may also help in assessing alignment sustainability which may help in conserving the land resources.

How many times the planners in the road sector have considered to generate growth in the economy internally. The capital investment in this sector has a huge potential for generating growth in different segments of the economy. Planning in road sector may be such that it opens up opportunities for investment from other sectors, for other sectors and to other sector of economy as well. This needs a deeper consideration by the planning and policy makers. The essence of ability to see and embrace change will make this sector to stand in a unique manner among the key sectors of the economy. However, the road infrastructure sector has to be supported by the research & development as well as much needed investment in man power development to make the most of the human potential. All these determinants of growth needs due support and slot by planners by considering them as areas of essential capital investment. Therefore, road sector planning may be much better off if it depicts clearly its investment strategy.

Recently the government has taken a decision for EPC based projects in the road sector which is a highly welcomed move. It point towards the thinking of the government towards a long term future. Unlike the private sector the public sector can think of tomorrow and spent today. However, the effort of the government needs to be suitably supplemented by the private sector and perhaps towards the same the 2% CSR may come as a helping hand.

However, the risk management effectiveness in the road sector planning process is almost totally missing. The planning process in this sector cannot continue with “risk – off mindset” if we have to restore confidence in investors and grew globally with an aim to seize transformational opportunities that can improve chances of achieving our collective goal of development. The planning process may also consider the “Debt Dynamics” and “Fiscal Consolidation” so that a closer look to the same may help in dealing effectively with fiscal contraction at different stages and at multiple levels to maintain the targeted growth in the sector. This may also require close scrutiny of credit information/details of the private sector/private sector companies. Such a process will help in assessment of “risk taking behavior” of different stakeholders as well as in maintaining fiscal sustainability in the medium term which will act as a stimulus to the economy. In case the organization increases the spending when it does not have fiscal room, it would undermine investors confidence and that would aggravate the situation. Therefore, the planning process should be such that it spread confidence not only in the investors/entrepreneurs but also among the community and other sectors of the economy. It may not be out of the place to mention that the road sector has not attempted to have investment from the other segments of the economy (which can be termed as consumers/beneficiaries from the good roads). Like in other infrastructure sector, the beneficiary sectors/industries should also contribute to cover

EDITORIAL

capital investment in the road sector. If this is attempted, it may help in not only achieving much needed synergy among different sectors of the economy but may also help in resource optimization.

The road sector is the highly sensitive to the traffic growth and traffic projection and in case they are not captured effectively, the risk increases especially when the project is on PPP mode. It may not be out of the place to mention that sustainability of an road alignment road facility so created heavily depends on the credibility of traffic growth projection. The solution lies in moving from the linear approach to a network developmental approach so that the integrated traffic circulation plan can be achieved to facilitate faster implementation of road projects.

There is also a solution based approach by way of developing “Shelves of Projects” with their inter-se priorities for implementation. Such a planning system may also help in effectively and optimally achieving land acquisition, shifting utilities & environmental clearances which are generally considered to be the major impediments if proper time process is not allocated to these activities.

The planning process should also account for the maintenance needs as an integral part of the road developmental project so that the concept of “asset management” can be practiced in an earnest manner, which may help in maximizing the return to the public and the society. The cost constraints in the maintenance activities of the road and the extremely challenging operational conditions necessitates introduction of cutting edge maintenance technologies which if adopted (may be initially cost intensive) will improve over all road asset operational efficiency.

However, the positives in the planning get eroded by delay in implementation of the projects. The delay in the road developmental project tantamount to deficiency in services and have other irreversible impact on the overall system. There is a need to have an inbuilt system of integrated self-setting key performance indicators in the overall implementation process. The planning process, therefore, for the road sector projects should also capture the implementation process in a realistic manner and effectively capture the actionable areas. The planning in road sector may help in establishing the dreams of a society and its people by improving the quality of life and help in self-reliance at local levels.

The Planning in road sector is a “technical art” and its complexities can be addressed only with right acumen and with positive approach.

“Not out of right practice comes right thinking, but out of right thinking comes right practices”:(Annie Besant)

Place: New Delhi Vishnu Shankar Prasad Dated: 24-1-2013 Secretary General

On the invitation of the Government of Tamil Nadu, the 73rd Annual Session of Indian Roads Congress (IRC) was held at Coimbatore from 7th to 11th

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 73rd ANNuAL SESSION OF THE INDIANROADS CONGRESS HELD AT COIMbATORE (TAMIL NADu)

FROM 7th TO 11th JANuARY, 2013

Dr. V.K. Yadav, Past President IRC, Shri Vishnu Shankar Prasad, Secretary General, IRC; S/Shri C.S. Prasad, Krishan Kumar, Sunil Bhomick & Pratap S. Raizada, Vice-Presidents, IRC; Dr. Niranjan Mardi, Principal Secretary (Highways & Minor Ports Department) Govt. of Tamil Nadu; Shri M. Rajamani, Director General, Highways, Govt. of Tamil Nadu & Shri K. Ameerdeen, Local Organising Secretary. The 73rd Annual Session was attended by more than 2500 Highway Sector Engineers/Professionals from various facets of this fraternity from all over the country

January 2013. This mega event and the biggest road sector meet was a grand success.

Shri Sarvey Sathyanarayana, Hon’ble Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways, Govt. of India lighting Inaugural lamp along with high dignitaries

The Session was inaugurated by Shri Sarvey Sathyanarayana, Hon’ble Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways, Govt. of India on the 8th January 2013. The Inaugural Function was graced by Shri P.N. Jain, President, IRC; Shri C. Kandasamy, Director General (Road Development) & Special Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Govt. of India, Shri S. Vijay Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development, Govt. of India; Lt. Gen. A.T. Parnaik, SM, VSM, Director General (Border Roads); Shri Ashok Khurana, Director General (CPWD);

HIGHLIGHTS OF 73rd ANNuAL SESSION

as well as from abroad and also from multilateral organizations like World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), JICA, etc.

The 73rd IRC Session has some innovative and new concepts which were considered for the first time. The same were:

a) Technical Exhibition–cum–Buyer-Seller Meet;

b) Three Parallel Technical Sessions;

c) Presentations by the Inventors & Researchers on “Innovative Technologies/Techniques/Procedures” which can be replicated by others in the highway sector;

d) Live Web-cast of the proceedings of the IRC Session;

e) Presentation by the Global Road Safety Fund of the World Bank on their initiatives in India to enhance road safety;

f) Presentation by Research Scholars/M.Tech Students of the Educational Institutions and opportunities for them to mingle with stalwarts of the highway sector as a step towards equipping them to become better highway professional;

g) Free yoga classes for the participants in the morning;

h) Discourse by Swami Sukbodananda on “Managing the Life Better”;

i) Cultural Programme by NGOs involved in the Road Safety.

In addition to the above, the main events during the Session were:-

1. 67th Meeting of the Highway Research Board;

2. 198th Council Meeting of IRC;

3. Detailed presentations and discussions of all the papers published in Journal of the Indian Roads

Congress Volume-73 Part - 1, 2 & 3 published during the year 2012;

4. Presentation and discussions on the Road Research Work Done in India During the Year 2011-2012;

5. Expert Talk by eminent speakers from India & abroad;

6. Panel Discussion on “Challenges, Constraints and Strengths – Way forward in Highway Sector – Enhancing Value of Road Sector Assets – Enhancing Safety of Road Users”;

7. Technical Presentations by various national and international organizations on new materials/technologies/machineries/equipment, etc;

8. 73rd Annual General Body Meeting for transacting business of the Indian Roads Congress;

9. 199th Council Meeting of IRC;

10. 10th Meeting of Indo-French Joint Working Group (JWG);

11. Meeting of Secretaries, Engineers-in-Chief and Chief Engineers from Central and State Government Departments.

The Council of Indian Roads Congress passed the resolution which read as:-

“Roads should be considered as active infrastructure facility for people, for safety and services, besides a catalyst in development of economy in place of passive approach of exclusivity. The IRC will evolve itself through synchronization and synergization with other sectors of economy based on interdependent model, wherein the need of safety of all stakeholders of highway sector is fulfilled through inclusive approach. Accordingly, the IRC is to adopt multi-modal transport concept while developing guidelines and codal practices”.

The brief event-wise highlights are:

HIGHLIGHTS OF 73RD ANNuAL SESSION

Glimpses of Inauguration of Technical Exhibition-cum-buyer-Seller Meet held on 7th January 2013:

Shri C. Kandasamy, Director General (Road Development) & Special Secretary, Govt. of India, MoRTH delivering Keynote Address

Hon’ble Thiru Edappady K. Palaniswami, Minister for Highways and minor Ports Department, Govt. of Tamil Nadu along with high dignitaries inaugurating the Technical Exhibition-cum-Buyer-Seller-Meet

For the first time, a Technical Exhibition-cum-Buyer-Seller Meet was organized alongside the Annual Session of IRC on 7th January, 2013. Shri Edappady K. Palaniswami, Hon’ble Minister for Highways and Minor Ports Department, Govt. of Tamil Nadu inaugurated the Technical Exhibition-cum-Buyer-Seller Meet in presence of Shri S. Damodharan, Hon’ble Minister for Agriculture Department, Govt. of Tamil Nadu; Shri S.M. Velusamy, Mayor, Coimbatore Corporation; Shri P.R. Natarajan, Member of Parliament, Coimbatore; Shri R. Chinnasamy, Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA), Singanallur; Shri Duraisamy, MLA, Coimbatore (South); Shri C. Kandasamy, Director General (Road Development) & Special Secretary MoRTH, Govt. of India; Shri P.N. Jain, President, IRC; Shri Vishnu Shankar Prasad, Secretary General, IRC; Dr. Niranjan Mardi, Chairman, State Steering Committee & Principal Secretary (H&MP), Govt. of Tamil Nadu;Shri M. Rajamani, Director General (Highways), Govt. of Tamil Nadu; Shri A.K. Viswanathan, Commissioner of Police, Coimbatore city; Shri K. Karunakaran, District Collector, Coimbatore; Dr. P. Umanath; Joint Secretary, Finance and Project Director, TNRSP, Chennai Shri K. Ameerdeen, Local Organising Secretary. In this Technical Exhibition-cum-Buyer-Seller Meet about 150 exhibitors’ from national & international orgnisations from highway sector participated. All these exhibitors displayed their products, materials, technology, equipment, machinery, plants, etc.

During the function Dr. Niranjan Mardi welcomed the dignitaries, delegates and the invitees. Shri S. Damodharan, Hon’ble Minister for Agriculture Department, Govt. of Tamil Nadu delivered a Special Address.

Shri C. Kandasamy, presided over the function. In his Keynote Address he informed the august gathering that UN declared 2011-2020 as ‘Decade of Action for Road Safety’. Govt. of India has also declared 2010-2020 as the ‘Decade of Innovation’ with a focus on Inclusive Growth. He briefed about Ministry’s enabling policies for road safety, promoting innovation & involvement of other stakeholders in pilot projects like road safety furniture with provision for 1% area-space for advertisement of sponsor organization, ad based skywalks/pathways for pedestrians/pilgrims, multilevel automated secure parking over park with walking/jogging tracks & gym facility, ResT- Research & Test reach of 300 m with usage of emerging materials – subsequently to be covered as Rest & Toilet Facility etc. He also highlighted utilities of solar lighting- environmental friendly option at median openings.

As regard to facilities for pedestrian and disabled persons along highways/city roads, he said that procedure adapted in United Kingdom for providing toilet facilities & its maintenance through private establishment can be explored. He presented photograph of skywalk & escalators facility of some cities, details of elevated expressways built through the central commercial district of Kobe with innovative idea by business leaders; details of highway (part of Hanshin Expressway) passes through the 5th-7th floors of this building. Further, he elaborated upon various PPPP Pilot Projects under IRC- JugaadWay i.e. JCom- Wireless info exchange between the Users (people) & highway under PPP (ITS thro’ Jugad); JTrack- segregating pedestrians, cyclists- laterally in rural, vertical in metropolitan- ad based PPP; JRest-for relax, Eatery, service Toilets,etc; JPass- Elevated/Underground bypasses; JStreet- ad based Street maintenance; JBridge-safety enforcement & service maintenance (using users); JLife- saving lives thro’ CSR by providing Crash barriers/Cushion, etc.

Machinery displayed during Technical Exhibition-cum-Buyer-Seller-Meet

Thiru Edappady K. Palaniswami Hon’ble Minister for Highways and Minor Ports, Govt. of Tamil Nadu delivered the Inaugural address. While inaugurating the first ever Technical Exhibition-cum-Buyer-Seller Meet, he appreciated the joint efforts of IRC and Government of Tamil Nadu in organizing this mega show in the city of Coimbatore which happens to be the industry hub-Manchester of South. He complimented all the participants and exhibitors for making this event a grand success. He highlighted the efforts of the State Govt. in providing good and safe roads to all the road users. On this occasion, gathering was also addressed by Shri S.M. Velusamy, Mayor, Coimbatore Corporation; Shri P.R. Natarajan, Member of Parliament, Coimbatore; Shri R. Chinnasamy, Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA), Singanallur; Shri Duraisamy, MLA, Coimbatore (South);Shri P.N. Jain, President, IRC;Shri Vishnu Shankar Prasad, Secretary General, IRC; Shri M. Rajamani, DG, Highways, Government of Tamil Nadu; Shri A.K. Viswanathan, Commissioner of Police, Coimbatore city; Shri K. Karunakaran, District Collector,

Coimbatore; Dr. P. Umanath; Joint Secretary, Finance and Project Director, TNRSP, Chennai. Shri K. Ameerdeen, Local Organizing Secretary, 73rd Annual Session of IRC, delivered Vote of Thanks to all the esteemed dignitaries who have graced the occasions specially Hon’ble Thiru Edappady K. Palaniswami, Minister for Highways and Minor Ports Department, Govt. of Tamil Nadu for inaugurating the Technical Exhibition-cum-Buyer-Seller-Meet, the exhibitors, the participants, invitees & members of electronic and print media.

Inauguration of 73rd Annual Session of IRC held on 8th January 2013:

73rd IRC Annual Session was inaugurated by Shri Sarvey Sathyanarayana, Hon’ble Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways, Govt. of India on the 8th January 2013. During Inaugural Function Dr. Niranjan Mardi, Chairman, State Steering Committee & Principal Secretary (H&MP), Govt. of Tamil Nadu welcomed the dignitaries, delegates and the invitees who have graced the Inaugural Function.

Shri Sarvey Sathyanarayana, Hon’ble Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways, Govt. of India delivering Inaugural Address

Inaugural Address by Shri Sarvey Sathyanarayana:

The Hon’ble Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways, Govt. of India, Shri Sarvey Sathyanarayana in his vibrant Inaugural Address while expressing happiness to be amongst the stalwarts of road sector on the occasion of Inaugural function of the 73rd Session of Indian Roads Congress in Coimbatore mentioned that there are 27 numbers of National Highways passing through the State of Tamil Nadu with a total length of about 4861 km.

Hon’ble Minister thanked the Government of Tamil Nadu for hosting this important event and providing the highway engineers from all over the country and abroad an opportunity to deliberate upon various technical issues pertaining to the road sector. He said that IRC needs no introduction to highway professionals. However, this being his first opportunity to participate in the Annual Session of IRC, he shared heartfelt perception on the working of this organization and its contribution in highway development in the country. The Hon’ble Minister mentioned that the Indian Roads Congress (IRC) is pivotal organization which provides a common platform for pooling of wisdom of highway engineers and practitioners from all over the country which is being used in development of Standards, Specifications, Code of Practices, Guidelines, Research based State of Art Reports, etc. on various aspects of road and bridges. IRC is tirelessly working to incorporate the latest and best industry practices in these Codes and has achieved many milestones in this endeavour. Notably, IRC has done a commendable job in ensuring common benchmark by publishing Standards in road construction for uniformity all over the country. It has also kept the knowledge base broad and updated to International Standards. These Standards are of great help in planning, designing, implementation of road construction and maintenance programmes both on National Highways as well as for other categories of roads. It is on the strength of the IRC documents that country could dream of massive initiatives of the Government, namely, National

Highways Development Program (NHDP), Special Accelerated Road Development Programme in North Eastern Region (SARDP) and PMGSY scheme for rural roads.

Hon’ble Minister said that in the context of large investments in the road transport sector, the Indian Roads Congress has assumed a much greater significance than ever before. The Indian Roads Congress, therefore, has an uphill task to come up to the expectations in evolving standards for innovative environment friendly materials and processes in planning, design, operation, construction and maintenance of roads and bridges in the country. It is heartening to note that the Indian Roads Congress is promoting new materials and techniques for use on our roads. He said that these new materials and techniques are being accredited, based on the research carried out in our country and other foreign countries

Road infrastructure contributes not only to the economic growth of the nation but also help in poverty alleviation and generation of employment. It is necessary for the Highway Engineers to provide world class roads to our citizens, facilitating their access to education, health and well-being, within the context of sustainable development. UPA Government has given a thrust to all areas of infrastructure in the country. It is no more a secret that the highway sector in the country is witnessing a significant increase in activities, in recent years. The Government has made substantial efforts to tackle the roads and shortcomings of highway sector and to reform its transport institutions. Apart from Government-financed construction activities, there is now a policy to encourage private-sector financing in roads through Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode. In addition, the World Bank is also financing the Indian road sector. But, with the growing road construction industry, environmental burdens are not far behind because of the use of resources, the emission of pollutants and global warming, which affect society at large. Roads have significant impacts on both nearby communities

and the natural environment. New roads bring development to previously underdeveloped areas, sometimes causing significant effects on sensitive environments and the lifestyles of indigenous people. India has very large road network of over 3.34 million kilometers comprising of around 79,116 km length of National Highways, 1,30,000 km State Highways, 3.14 millions of Major Distt. Road, Rural road & Urban road.

The Hon’ble Minister remarked that the UPA Government is committed to an all-round development of road network in the country. Strategically, adding lanes to existing highway and upgrading existing roads in initial phase will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by easing congestion. This strategy is paying by reducing the amount of fuel that vehicles waste in stop-and-go traffic, leading to lower release of greenhouse gases from vehicles. India is soon going to have one of the world’s most extensive National Highway networks through various phases of the National Highways Development Project planned by the Government. The projects are being financed largely through user fees collected from users at toll collection points on these improved highways.

The Hon’ble Minister said that as all of you are aware of the role of Public Private Partnership (PPP) and its impact on highway development. He said that the Ministry has initiated measures to increase transparency in bidding process through introduction of Annual Pre-qualification and e-tendering, which encouraged more investors to enter this sector. Ministry have been overwhelmed by the response to each project bid out both in terms of number of bidders as well as the competitiveness of bids. He touched upon some of the major issues confronting the roads sector in our country. They are a source of great concern to us and he called upon to seriously deliberate upon them during the course of this 5 days Session and come out with some concrete recommendations. Maintenance and rehabilitation is one of the important areas for which availability of funds is not adequate as compared to the demand. He mentioned that we

are developing roads as a National asset at a huge cost. These assets needs to be preserved qualitatively through asset management initiatives, there is need to work out appropriate maintenance strategies keeping in view the available budget and the required demand. The Indian Roads Congress should pay attention to this emerging concept of Asset Management and come up with guidelines ensuring well-kept roads at an optimized maintenance cost.

Hon’ble Minister pointed out the problem of over loading of vehicles is another serious issue crippling the highways in the country. The over-loaded axle of the trucks and category of heavy vehicles cause severe damages to the roads and are safety hazards. He urged upon all the Technocrats present in this August Gathering to deliberate on this issue and come out with concrete action plan to overcome this menace. Besides the aforesaid issues, he said that provisions of proper and adequate wayside amenities, pedestrian facilities, facilities for school children & disabled peoples, proper & detailed DPR preparation, road safety features, environmental and health safety hazards, regular training to engineers, skilled and unskilled personnel, capacity augmentation, beautiful landscape should also form an integral part of the designing and construction process of road development works. On conservation of the material the Hon’ble Minister said that there is a need to save scarce physical resource like aggregates, sand, earth, cement, bitumen, etc., looking to huge programme of construction of highways in the country. Construction of roads require huge amount of soil and a great part of it is drawn from fertile top soil suitable for agriculture purposes. On the other hand, we have problem of the disposal & storage of industrial waste like fly-ash, copper slag, marble slurry, etc. We should make sincere efforts in utilizing these waste materials in construction of roads through complete/partial replacement for sub-grade, embankment construction to conserve the top soil suitable for cultivation. Stabilization by use of chemical, enzymes and modifiers should be attempted to utilize the otherwise unsuitable soil. Our research

based activities & capacity should also be enhanced so that we become leader in the world rather a follower in view of large network of highways being constructed in the country.

Another important issue he drawn the attention of all Experts was the road safety. He informed that during the year 2011, there were around 5 lakh road accidents resulting in the death of over 1.42 lakh people. Each day, nearly 390 people die on our roads. In India more than half of road accident victims are in the age group 20-65 years, the key wage earning and child raising age group. The loss of the main bread earner and head of household due to death or disability can be catastrophic, leading to lower living standards and poverty, in addition to the human cost of bereavement. This is an unacceptable price to pay for mobility. It is imperative that the Government reaches out to the people to spread the message of road safety. Education and awareness will go a long way to bring about a change in the attitude and behavior of our people. As a step in this direction, he appealed to all the Engineers from Central and State Govt. departments to organize people awareness campaign in their States regularly alongwith police and traffic departments. He said that a panel discussion on ‘Way forward in Highway Sector Enhancing Value of Road Sector Asset, Enhancing Safety of Road Users- Constrains & Strengths’ is already scheduled in this Session and on the initiatives of IRC the Global Road Safety Fund under the World Bank is making a presentation on their proposed initiatives in India. He expressed hope, this will bring new suggestions and steps will be taken to implement the recommendations of this session by all the Central & State Government’s concerned departments.

Hon’ble Minister said that Proper implementation of various road projects is the most important aspect. This requires higher professional ethics and commitment to ensure that roads constructed at such high cost are long lasting and do not deteriorate prematurely. These are National assets and they should be managed like other assets so that we get good quality roads and they need to be maintained efficiently with proper strategy and

planning. We should consider proactive approach in maintenance instead of attending to very badly damaged roads, by way of crisis management, as is the case so far. He made an earnest appeal to the entire Highway Engineers including representatives of Contractors, Consultants, Concessionaries, Engineers from State PWDs and other departments to take a pledge in not compromising on the quality of construction beside completing the road projects without time & cost over-run. Such a commitment will go a long way in providing durable roads, conserving scarce material like aggregates, sand, earth requiring minimum maintenance. He highlighted the achievement of his Ministry in the development of National Highways in the State of Tamil Nadu. NHAI has undertaken projects in various phases of NHDP. Phase I (GQ) and Phase II are completed. Further, 6 laning of GQ has also been awarded and work is in progress on stretch from Hosur to Wallahjapet Section of NH-7 & 46 and Chennai – Tada Section of NH-5 in a length of 344 km. The 6 laning of Wallahjapet to Poonamallee in a length of 93 km has been awarded and work is likely to be started shortly. NHAI has also undertaken various projects under NHDP-III of length 1479 km and work is in progress in about 690 km which includes important stretch of Tirupati–Tiruthani–Tiruninravur,Trichy-Karaikudi, Tindivanam–Krishnagiri, Dindigul–Kumuli and Trichy –Karur. The work of Coimbatore – Mettupalayam has also been awarded in July, 2012 and work is likely to be started soon by the Concessionaire. Some new projects are also in pipeline like Madurai–Ramanathapuram–Dhanushkodi–Kaniyakumari to Kerala border, Nagapattinam-Thanjavur and Karaikudi–Ramanathapuram under NHDP-III. Further, NHAI has finalized the alignment of Chennai – Bangalore Expressway of 258 km length in all the three states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and final DPR is in progress under NHDP-VI.

Further the Hon’ble Minister added that the NHAI has also taken up various projects under NHDP-IV for 4/2 laning with Paved Shoulders in a length of 980 km and projects are at different stages of DPR finalization and bidding stage, which are Villupuram–

Pondicherry–Nagapattinam, Vikravandi–Thanjavur, Thanjavur–Manamadurai, Trichy–Chidambaram, Dindigul – Tamil Nadu / Karnataka border of NH-209 on DBFOT. So far about 2200 km of 4 laning have been completed under various phases and about 1200 km is under implementation and about 1745 km yet to be awarded. He mentioned about the problems being faced in the State by the NHAI and the Concessionaire in implementing the projects. In the absence of state Support Agreement and lack of support for availability of aggregates and soil, the projects are getting delayed and is major stumbling block in speedy completion of projects. There are abnormal delays in obtaining the requisite permissions from the District Administration for materials from quarry. Due to non-signing of State Support Agreement by the Government of Tamil Nadu, the Concessionaires are not getting funds from the lenders and also resulting into delay in obtaining approvals and clearances from various Departments. He requested State Government of Tamil Nadu to kindly provide active support in expediting the completion of projects. The Hon’ble Minister expressed hope that the deliberations during this Annual Session would be quite useful for the highway profession and they will enrich knowledge regarding road construction

and maintenance techniques without compromising quality, durability, serviceability, safety, health and environmental aspect. It will guide the Government in deciding the future road infrastructure needs of the country. He mentioned that to achieve this objective, IRC is getting some assistance & help from the World Bank to revise/up-date Guidelines, Standards and Specification comparable to international standards.

At the end he mentioned that it is really heartening to note that for the first time IRC have given the opportunities to the Researchers and Post –Graduate Engineering Students to make the presentations about the research works being carried out by them. He said that sharing of experiences by stalwarts in the sector with the students will lead to building a strong foundation for this sector to meet the future challenges and help in design of common strategy to over-come them through the unified efforts of Government Agencies, Highway Professionals, Researchers and educational institutions. This effort of IRC is really commendable. With these words, the Hon’ble Minister extended heartiest Congratulations to the organizers and complement them for holding this biggest meet in the road sector.

Glimpses of Inaugural Function of 73rd Annual Session

Dr. Niranjan Mardi, Principal Secretary, Govt. of Tamil Nadu delivering welcome address

Shri C. Kandasamy, Director General (Road Development) & Special Secretary Govt. of India and Treasurer, IRC delivering Key-note Address

on’b

‘Ten

on’b

, Dire

itarie

Vishnu Shankar Prasad, Secretary General, IRC proposing the Vote-of-Thanks

Presidential Address by Shri P.N. Jain

Shri P.N. Jain, President, Indian Roads Congress & Chief Engineer (NH) and Additional Secretary (R&B Department) Government of Gujarat in his Presidential Address expressed his sincere gratitude to the Government of Tamil Nadu for hosting the 73rd Annual Session at Coimbatore. He mentioned that Indian Roads Congress has enjoyed the warm hospitality of the Govt. of Tamil Nadu in the past also. The President, IRC thanked the Govt. of Tamil Nadu for showing interest in the activities of the IRC.

The President, IRC extended a warm welcome to Shri Sarvey Sathyanarayana, Hon’ble Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways, Govt. of India for having spared his valuable time to inaugurate the Session. He extended a very warm and cordial welcome to all the distinguished Members of the Council, Guests and Invitees and also international professionals who had come all the way to take part in the 73rd IRC Session.

Shri P.N. Jain while highlighting the services being rendered by IRC mentioned that the activities of IRC have increased manifold in the recent past with the globalization and emphasis on Private Sector participation in road development.He said that recently Indian Roads Congress

Shri P.N. Jain, President IRC & Chief Engineer-cum Additional Secretary, Government of Gujarat delivering Presidential address

has initiated the innovative and unprecedented steps to enhance cooperation with international organizations like World Bank, ADB, Japan Road Association, etc. The interests have been shown by these organizations to work together with IRC in framing and upgrading the guidelines and codes of practices. The same will go a long way in meeting the demand and challenges of this sector. With this he requested all to continue actively participating, exploring and setting new heights at IRC towards having more qualitative and state-of-the art road infrastructure in place.

While speaking on the theme Road to Development, appreciating the present state of development and challenges to be dealt he expressed belief that the level of understanding and involvement of all will deliver with best out of our zeal, creativity and absolute knowledge sharing and demonstration of excellence. Shri Jain mentioned that the development of road sector is likely to continue in the coming decades, could be at more faster pace and calls for all round participation and refined approach.

The President, IRC mentioned that good numbers of states are excelling, trying to excel with new and innovative approaches through road infrastructure developmental

intents. In nutshell the improved quality of works, planning and design approaches, asset management initiatives and good blend of social-environmental aspects are praise worthy initiatives by many states and central authorities.He shared that he was benefitted by seeing advantages created by number of states and various road projects, through the way they are handling PPPs also the increased awareness and actual implementation of safety related aspects across.

Speaking on Practicable-Economical Designs, Shri Jain said that last few decades have seen the sea change in having proper designs in place with global trends and innovations. But the way things are turning out we need to understand the scale of economies and principles of Engineering. He opined that sufficient time frame for conceiving and planning need to be given. With this the designs should be more of realistic and practicable nature not like fitting of one concept of a particular state to other as it is. Although efforts are in-place, should we take a realistic stock of availability of construction materials? And how we will deal with this in future? May be more sustained approach on defining, re-use, re-cycle need to be explored.

On Asset Management Shri Jain said that let it be manual or computerized, we need to have a system, a discipline in place towards providing better serviceability of our assets to the communities. In recent years, many good initiatives at Central and State levels have been conceived/conceiving State of the art asset management systems. Gujarat is also having one of the successful and working asset management systems (called Gujarat Road Management System). Ministry, NHAI and other State governments are also having/developing comprehensive systems. Such an initiative is providing us the scientific rational in providing and managing road networks with maintained desired level of service. Asset management, enabling us with vision and providing control on asset management; serves the whole purpose of todays my theme of road development and meeting challenges.

Further he added that over the years, we are following many adopted standards as they are, some customization, some innovation and research related efforts have happened and are getting reflected through new publications of IRC. But still more participation of Governments, academicians and industry is required and is seen as very much vital.

Keynote Address by Shri C Kandasamy, DG (RD) & SS

Shri C Kandasamy, Director General (Road Development) & Special Secretary MoRTH, Govt. of India, in his Keynote Address said that Union Government had now said that 10 percent of road renewal should be through recycling. He mentioned that filling up of potholes should be mechanized.

Address by Guests of Honour:

Shri Vijay Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India highlighted the benefits getting accrued to the people of rural India and the nation on account of successful implementation of world’s biggest road sector programme known as Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). He further mentioned that rural roads are the vehicle for generation of employment in rural areas as well as improvement in the essential services like medical facilities, education facilities, propagation of nutrition based programmes/schemes, etc. However, he also suggested to have better Standards for sustainable maintenance of asset created under the rural road programme.

Lt. Gen A.T. Parnaik, SM, VSM, Director General, (Border Road) highlighted the need of engineering solution to overcome the extreme & hostile climatic/environmental conditions and situations which are continuously faced by the Border Road Organization while meeting with the challenges of providing good roads in the remotest parts of the country. He also highlighted the effective methodology adopted by the BRO.

Shri Ashok Khurana, Director General (CPWD) made a lucid presentation on the roads provided by the CPWD in high altitude conditions. However, he stressed for carrying out further research based actions to come up with better solutions and applications in such locations. He highlighted the contribution made by CPWD in providing good roads especially in the urban areas.

Shri Pratap S Raizada, Vice-President, IRC read out the Messages conveying good wishes for the success of the Session received from various high dignitaries.

Felicitation of Authors of Papers;

Hon’ble Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways, Govt. of India, Shri Sarvey Sathyanarayana felicitated the Authors of the Papers published in Journal of the IRC & Highway Research Journal. The following Awards and Medals were given:

i) IRC Medal (for Best Paper discussed at the Session): Awarded to Shri Alok Bhowmick for the Paper No.570 “Challenges Faced in Design & Construction of Underpass by Box-Pushing Techique at Road No.56 Near Vivek Vihar, Delhi” printed in Journal of the Indian Roads Congress, Volume 72 Part 2.

ii) Medal Instituted by Maharashtra PWD (for Best Paper on Construction): Awarded to S/Shri B.K. Chugh, Rakesh Misra, A.K. Sinha & P.S. Chauhan for their Paper entitled “Multi Facility Grade Separator On GT Karnal Road, NH-1, Outer Ring Road Intersection at Mukerba Chowk, Delhi” printed in Journal of the Indian Roads Congress, Volume 72 Part 3.

iii) Medal Instituted by Bihar PWD (for Best Paper on Road Research): Awarded to Ms. Shalinee Shukla & Dr. Satish Chandra for their Paper No. 567 “Simulation of Mixed Traffic Flow on Four-Lane Divided Highways” printed in Journal of the Indian Roads Congress, Volume 72 Part 1 and awarded to Dr. Indrasen Singh, S/Shri Ankul Agrawal, Swapnil Bhelke & Yogesh Chaudhary for their Paper entitled “Productivity Analysis for Highway Project – A Case Study” printed in Highway Research Journal Volume 4 No. 1.

iv) Medal Instituted by CPWD (for Best Paper on Maintenance): Awarded to Dr. Emerick Davies for the Paper entitled “In-Situ Recycling (Crack and Seat), as a Cost Effective Rehabilitation Method for Severely Stressed and Deformed Concrete (Rigid or Rigid Composite) Pavement” printed in Journal of the Indian Roads Congress, Volume 72 Part 1.

v) Commendation Certificates: Awarded to Paper No.568 “Warm Bituminous Mixes: The Wave of the Future?” by Ms. Ambika Behl, Dr. Sunil Bose, Shri Girish Sharma, Shri Gajendra Kumar & Ms. Uma Devi printed in Journal of the Indian Roads Congress, Volume 72 Part 2, Paper entitled “Effect of Upgrade and its Length on PCU of Vehicles in Heterogeneous Traffic on Intercity Roads” by Dr. V. Thamizh Arasan & Shri Shriniwas S. Arkatkar printed in Highway Research Journal Volume 4 Part 1 and Paper entitled “Development of Logit Model for Improvement in the Public Transport System in Mysore” by Ms. Poonam Sabikhi, Shri Kinshuk Pal & Dr. P.K. Sarkar printed in Highway Research Journal Volume 4 No.2.

Release of Souvenir:

Hon’ble Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways, Govt. of India Shri Sarvey Sathyanarayana released the Souvenir brought out by Highways Department Govt. of Tamil Nadu on the occasion of 73rd Annual Session of the Indian Roads Congress.

Release of New Guidelines

Shri P.N. Jain President IRC released IRC:37-2012 ‘Tentative Guidelines for the Design of Flexible Pavements’.

Shri Vishnu Shankar Prasad, Secretary General, IRC, proposed the Vote-of-Thanks to the Hon’ble Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways Shri Sarvey Sathyanarayana for sparing his valuable time from his busy schedule, to all other dignitaries and also to esteemed participants for their gracious presence in the event. Secretary General expressed his special thanks to the State Organizing Committee for making extensive arrangements for holding the 73rd Annual Session and for making elaborate arrangements for the comfortable stay of the delegates.

67th Meeting of Highway Research board held on 8th January 2013:

On 8th January 2013, the 67th Meeting of Highway Research Board was held under the Chairmanship of Shri C. Kandasamy, Director General (Road Development) & Special Secretary to the Govt. of India, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways.

Highway Research Board discussed in detail the management of research studies and reporting of research findings. The Board felt that the research findings were not being adequately reported for the benefit of those who want to use them. To achieve this, it was suggested by the Board that the findings of research schemes may be collected from Research Institutes, Govt. departments, individual and uploaded on the Website of IRC.

Presentations on State-of-the-Report on ‘Facilities for Pedestrian/Physically Challenged Persons/ Passengers’ and ‘Road Safety with Emphasis on Non-motorized Traffic’ were made by Dr. S. Moses Santhakumar, Professor and Head and Dr. Samson Mathew, Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, NIT, Tiruhirapalli, were made during the 67th Highway Research Board Meeting which were well taken by the members.

Glimpses of various events

n ‘I

rtatio

r of I

Yoga was also arranged during the Annual Session for the benefit of delegate.

198th Council Meeting of IRC held on 8th January 2013:

The Council in its 198th meeting held on the 8th January 2013 transacted the administrative, financial and general business of the IRC. After detailed discussions, the Council approved the following two amendments of BSS Committee and three documents of HSS Committee:

i) Amendments to Clause No. 204; 209.3.3 and Notes below Table 3.1, 3.2 & 3,4 of IRC:6-2010 ‘Standard Specification and Code of Practice for Road Bridges’ Section-II -Loads and Stress (fifth Revision).

ii) Amendment to Clause No. 705.2.2 (a) & (b) of IRC:78-2000 ‘Standard Specifications and Code of Practice for Road Bridges Section VII- Foundations and Substructure’ (Second Revision).

iii) First revision of IRC:SP:46 ‘Guidelines for Design & Construction of Fiber Reinforced Concrete Pavements’

iv) Revision of IRC:SP:50 ‘Guidelines for Urban Drainage’

v) New Document on ‘Guidelines for Use of Silica Fume in Rigid Pavement’

A Presentation was made by Prof. S.S. Jain, IIT Roorkee on ‘Development of Guidelines for Pavement Preservation for Periodic Maintenance’ before the Council, which was well taken by the members

The Council paid tribute to the members of IRC and staff from IRC Secretariat departed during the year 2012.

Technical Sessions held on 9th January 2013

On 9th January 2013 three Technical Sessions in parallel were held. Two Sessions were dedicated for Presentation & discussion on Technical Papers printed in IRC Journal, 2012 and third session on Innovative Technologies/Procedures adopted by State Government/Organization in Highway sector. These events were webcasted live to the entire world through internet for the first time in the history of IRC. This initiative taken by IRC, has been appreciated by all.

The first technical Session on theme ‘Innovative Technologies/Procedures adopted by State Government/Organization in Highway sector was chaired by Shri C. Kandasamy, Director General (Road Development) & Special Secretary, MoRTH and Co-Chaired Shri V.L. Patankar, Additional Director General, MoRTH. During this session, first presentation was made by Shri Ashwani Kumar, Regional Officer, Hyderabad, MoRTH on ‘Pilot Project on Advertisements Based Urban Maintenance on National Highway No.65 (Hyderabad-Vijayawada Section) in Andhra Pradesh. The Presentation covers objective of this Pilot Project i.e to display the advertisement in an organized manner along with public awareness message & utilize the revenue generated for maintenance and upkeep of National Highways; recent Ministry’s technical circular for advertisement with certain conditions where in the advertisement shall be limited to 80% of the

advertisement area and remaining 20% is to be kept for Government related/public awareness programmes; procedure for bid invitation; probable biding option for period of 3-5 years; various parameters for bidding like, average annual turnover for last five years should be more than 40% of the offset price put to tender, Successful completion of at least one similar work should be more than 40% of the offset price put to tender, etc; BOQ template, e-tendering process; items for e-tendering i.e Laying of Wearing Course, Median Curb Painting, Median Plantation, Lane marking, Footpaths, etc; types of structures for advertisement display; details of site locations of hoardings; revenue analysis of NHs, total tentative revenue stream for NHs in Andhra Pradesh, way forward after success of this pilot projects for effective and efficient utilisation of the revenue generated through advertisements, etc.

Second presentation was made by Shri Elango S., Director, Galaxy Group Bangalore on ‘Innovative Multi-Level Parking System- Robotic Valet - The Super AGV’. The Presentation highlighted need for multi-level parking; worldwide scenario of increasing urban population, etc. He presented about automated parking; comparison between automated & conventional parking; benefits of automated parking like saving in space – about 50% space, reduction in carbon footprints, details of Robotic Valet System; its capabilities; typical throughput in min-sec; traffic-master management software; automated car wash system; technologies various advantages; classification of revenue and expenditure; automation parking etc. He mentioned that it can succeed only if the Governments’ Rules and Regulations too get updated dynamically; required amendments in existing rules & regulations, etc.

Third Presentation was made by Shri Rahul Gupta, Superintending Engineer on ‘Innovative Financing by MoRTH’ and last presentation was made by Shri S.K.Nirmal,Superintending Engineer on ‘New Initiatives by MoRTH’. In his Presentation, he covered details of MoRTH recent policy circulars for providing Research & Test (ResT) reaches, transverse

Bar Markings at accident- prone spots & along National Highways and Experimental Crash Barriers/Crash Cushions for Road Safety; objectives of MoRTH to improve quality of construction within cost effective manner through training & prompting new eco-friendly materials & technology to conserve scarce natural resources; procedure for involvement of all stakeholders like, industry, academia, IRC & other stakeholder for R&D; details of MoRTH’s proposed research & test stretch; typical drawing of rest along NHs; requisite criteria for surfacing; monitoring mechanism for these research test stretches; future use of rest areas. The presentation also covers details about Transverse Bar Markings at accident-prone spots on National Highways; methodology for spacing & fixation, prerequisite criteria for paining, number of markings; suggestive transverse bar marking criteria; brief about Experimental Crash Barriers/ Crash Cushions for Road Safety; structural & safety requirement; approval, implementing & monitoring procedure, proposed scheme, etc. All the presentations were very informative and effective and the same were appreciated by the participants. Thereafter, session was summed up by the Co-Chairman and Chairman. They briefly gave a gist of all presentations made by experts and highlighted need for adoption of innovative mechanism in areas of road maintenance and advertisement, highway financing, multilevel parking, road safety etc.

After the tea Break, Technical session on ‘Innovative Technologies/Procedures adopted by State Government/Organization in Highway sector ‘was Chaired by Shri Ashok Khurana, Director General (Works), Central Public Works Determent and Co-Chaired by Shri E.L. Satyamoorthi, Director, Highways Research Station, Chennai. During this session first presentation was made Shri R.K. Jaigopal, Managing Director, Struct Geotch Research Laboratories Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore on ‘Bi-Directional Static Pile Load Testing’. The Presentation covered introduction of bi-directional pile load testing; details of practice followed by designers; existing static load testing methods like Kentledge Reaction, rock anchoring reaction; details of high

strain dynamic pile testing; brief about bi-directional pile load testing, its advantages; drawbacks of present pile testing methods; methodology for bi-directional pile testing; costing of bi-directional testing; effectiveness and wealth of information yielded in the test results; codification status worldwide like ASTM, Chinese, IRC, etc.

Second presentation was made by Shri P.K. Katare on ‘Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) - Road Ahead’. The Presentation covered Details of rationale for Rural Connectivity Programmes; criteria for construction of rural roads; budgetary allocation; transforming in rural lives- by increased access to market, health and education. Investment of One Million Rupees enables 165 poor people to move above poverty line; current status of implementation of PMGSY program in Nov, 12- Value of project proposals cleared: Rs.1,39,198 Crore (US $ 25.3 billion), Funds Released : Rs.1,02,037 Crore (US $ 18.6 billion) & Expenditure : Rs.96,248 Crore (US $ 17.5 billion); management strategy for quality; institutional architecture for PMGSY program; process for preparation of DPR, its scrutiny & approval; formulation of technical standards& specification with the help from IRC; standard and transparent procurement procedure ; three tier quality management mechanism; online monitoring, management & accounting system; transparency& community participation ; experiences & lesson learned from PMGSY I - completed over 3.6 lakh km rural roads and another about 2.4 lakh km are in pipeline; recommendation of 12th Planning Commission; achieved target of rural connectivity; need for PMGSY-II; outline of phase II; special features like, performance base contacts, emphasis on road safety, GIS base management; costing of PMGSY Phase II over proposed duration; initiatives by NRRDA for setting up field laboratories, etc.

The third Presentation was made by Prof. P.K.Sarkar, Professor, SPA, Delhi on ‘Skywalk Facilities’. The Presentation highlighted introduction and background of pedestrian facility, current approach in road planning & design, statistics about proportion of

road users killed in various modes of transport as per cent of all fatalities in India, Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Australia, etc; details about road accidents in Delhi city & some serious issues concerned with movement of pedestrians; conditions of various road interchange in India; history about pedestrian facility worldwide II; definition and detail of skywalk; advantages & disadvantages of skywalk facility; factors needs to be considered during planning of skywalks; potential areas for developing skywalk in Delhi like , Bhikaji Kama Place, Nehru Place, Rajouri Garden, ITO, Chandni Chowk, etc; historical & geographical detail of Bhikaji Kama Place; outcome of survey of Bhikaji Kama Place carried out by Svayam – National Centre for Inclusive Environments; suggestive points to be considered for economic feasibility of developing skywalks like saving in travel time, improving LOS, saving accidents, Enhancement of environmental quality, etc; various policy option for funding like, Involve private sector, Compromise service quality, Make non-user beneficiaries pay, Exploit other assets – property development ,Public subsid, etc; various funding option through PPP like, Revenues from Hoardings, Rental from Kiosk along and below the staircases, Advertisements on Skywalk surfaces, concessioner generating revenue from by developing the skywalk, in addition other lucrative options also considered like taxation in urban areas, commercial exploitation of property; examples of skywalk facility in different countries; project cost comprising various items like, Cost of elevated structure, Cost of escalator/stair case, Links cost between building and the elevated structure, Lighting cost, Cost of the roof, Cost for plantations, Cost of signage, Cost of diversion of utilities, Cost of additional structure to support kiosk/any business activities for generation of revenues, Operation Cost, Maintenance cost, etc; Sampling of various interior conditions in the skywalks; conclusions, i.e. need to develop exclusive pedestrian facilities to be free from vehicular traffic without the involvement of funding requirement from the Government.

Thereafter, Shri Shantoo Bhattacharya, Executive

Engineer, PWD Assam & Volunteer in Eco-engineering made a presentation on ‘Vetiver System: the Green Tool Against Erosion’. The Presentation highlighted various applications of bio-engineering material - vetiver; quality of plants for use in bio-engineering; details of properties of vetiver grass like, shear strength; soil stabilization mechanism by vetiver; difficulties in standardization of hill slope , riverbank , etc; case studies of vetiver application in road embankment, side slope, bridge approach, riverbank protection, hill slope, etc; performance of all case studies on PMGSY Roads & NHs in addition international case references; disadvantages of vetiver system; various measures for decision making , planning, and finally conclusion about environmental friendly sustainable bioengineering tool for infrastructure protection.

Thereafter, Shri Ashwani Kumar, Regional Officer, Hyderabad, MoRTH made a Presentation on ‘Outsourcing Data Collection through Network Survey Vehicle’. The Presentation Covers objectives for development of GIS base NHs information; details about collection & use of road related information for long term development & maintenance strategies as well as routine queries/clarification on daily basis; components of working mechanism of network survey vehicle; procedural working methodology of various hardware’s, software’s, types of road data like, pavement monitoring, asset inventory, safety assessment, etc; procedure for data collection, analysis, reporting in compatible format , further use of data on GIS base software; quality of image data for road cracks & other type of surface distress, way forward for larger scale application in department, mechanism for inviting bids, period of contracts , status of MoRTH document, wider application of this technology for timely maintenance of roads.

At last, Shri K.C.Sharma, Superintending Engineer, MoRTH made a Presentation on ‘Memorandum of Understanding for Training’. The Presentation highlighted aim of training for up-skilling personnel among various stakeholders; making mandatory provision for training to unskilled operators , workers

working in highway sector; various issues involve in training like, who will impart training, type of training, who will be trainees, overall assessment of training program, terms of the MOU, curriculum and faculty, fees & certification, involvement of contractors, consultants, concessionaire for bearing cot of training, Ministry’s directions to State Governments for bearing expenditure on training under quality control, details of organization who impart training on project site, gist of CPWD clauses on training in all tenders, terms of the MOU & issue like IPR, term & termination, etc.

All the presentations were well taken by the delegates. Thereafter, session was summed up by the Co-Chairman and Chairman. They briefly gave a gist of all presentations made by experts and highlighted the need for skywalk facility, rural connectivity with quality roads, vetiver grass system for erosion of embankments. Necessity of training skilled and unskilled personals in highway sector was also highlighted.

Second Parallel Technical Session

Second parallel Session on ‘Presentation and Discussion of Technical Papers on Pavements published in Journal of the IRC Volume 73 Parts 1, 2 & 3 was Chaired by Dr. S.S. Jain, Prof. & Coordinator, IIT Roorkee and Co-Chaired by Shri S.B. Vasava, Chief Engineer & Addl. Secretary, Govt. of Gujarat. The following Papers were presented and discussed during this Session:

1. Paper No. 580 entitled: “A Critical Review of Concrete Road Construction Practices in India” by Shri M.C. Venkatesha & Shri Nawraj Bhatta

2. Paper No.584 entitled: “Investigations on Laboratory Performance of Bituminous Mixes with Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement Materials – A Step towards Sustainable Road Infrastructure in India” by S/Shri Kanishak Chopra, Anjan Kumar, S. Rajib Basu Mallick & Prof. A. Veeraragavan.

3. Paper No.576 entitled: “Perpetual Flexible Pavements: Pavements of Future” by Shri Sanjay Garg.

After tea Break, second Parallel Session on Presentation and Discussion of Technical Papers on Roads & Traffic Transportation published in the IRC Journal Volume 73 Parts 1,2 & 3 was chaired by Dr. S.P. Palanisamy. Retd. Professor of Civil Engineering, IIT Kanpur & Co-Chaired by Shri Arnab Bandopadhyay, Senior Transport Engineer, World Bank. The following Papers were presented and discussed during this Session.

1. Paper No.577 “Some Issues Pertaining to Sustainability of Road Transport Operations, Road Construction and Maintenance in India Over the Next Twenty Years” by S/Shri M. Vishwas, Pradeep Kumar, Ms. Sowjanya & Dr. L.R. Kadiyali

2. Paper No.581 “Capacity and Performance Indicator Framework for Road Agencies in India” by Shri Rajesh Rohatgi, S/Shri Arnab Bandyopadhyay and D.P. Gupta

3. Paper No.582 entitled: “Time & Cost Overrun Analysis of National Highway Development Project” by S/Shri M. Kishore Kumar, Ch. Hanumantha Roa and L. Boeing Singh.

All the presentations were very informative and effective and the same were appreciated by the participants. Thereafter, session was summed up by the respective Co-Chairman and Chairman of the Session.

Third parallel Technical Session

Third Parallel Session on Presentation and Discussion of Technical Papers on Bridges was Chaired Shri V. Velayutham, Former D.G.(R.D.) & Special Secretary, MoRTH and Co-Chaired Shri P.L. Bongirwar, Former Secretary, PWD Maharashtra. The following Papers were presented and discussed during this Session.

1. Paper No.579 entitled “Disastrous Failure of A Major Bridge during High Floods: A Case Study with Critical Review of Some Basic Design Parameters” by Dr. A.G. Namjoshi

2. Paper No.583 “Construction of the Most Unbalanced Cantilever P.S.C. Bridge Over River Munawar Tawi at Beripattan, Jammu & Kashimr – A Success Story by Shri D.D. Sharma, Dr. V.K. Yadav, S/Shri Praveen Gupta, Alok Bhowmick & S.K. Chellani.

After tea Break, third Parallel Session on Presentation and Discussion of Technical Papers on Traffic &Transportation published in the IRC Journal Volume 73 Parts 1,2 & 3 was Chaired by Shri Nirmaljit Singh, Former, DG (RD) &SS, MoRTH. The following Papers were presented and discussed during this Session.

1. Paper No.575 “Mixed Traffic Flow Analysis on Roundabouts” by Dr. Satish Chandra & Dr. Rajat Rastogi

2. Paper No.585 “Application of ANT Administrative System in Web GIS Based Advanced Public Transport System (APTS)” by Dr. Sanjiv Suman & Dr. Praveen Kumar

All the presentations were very informative and effective and the same were appreciated by the participants. Thereafter, session was summed up by the respective Co-Chairman and Chairman of the Session.

In the afternoon, the two dedicated Parallel Sessions for making Technical Presentations by organizations for briefing their products/ materials/technology and 10th Meeting of Indo-French Joint Working Group (JWG) meeting were held.

Technical Presentations by National/International Organizations

The first Session on ‘Technical Presentations’ by organizations was Chaired by Shri C.C. Bhattacharya, Former DG (RD) & SS, MoRTH. The following companies made presentations covering details of their products/materials/technology, application metrology, advantages, etc.

1. “Cost Effective and Successful Use of advanced Flexible Materials in Road Sector Few Case Histories” by Ms. Mini Korulla, M/s. Maccaferri Environmental Solutions Pvt. Ltd.

2. “Honeywell Polymers for Modifying Butumen” Presentation by Mr. John Clay M/s. Honeywell International (I) Pvt. Ltd.

3. “Design with Confidence using MX Road V8i (SELECT series 3) – Powered by Open Roads Technology” by Shri Jugal Makwana, M/s. Bentley Systems India Pvt. Ltd.

4. “Nano Technology” by Dr. Ajay I. Ranka, M/s. Zydex Industries

5. “Prospective Applications of Glued Steel Fibers in Construction industry – A Long Term Performance” by Dr. A. Sivakumar, M/s. Onward Chemicals Pvt. Ltd.

The second Session on ‘Technical Presentations’ by organizations was Chaired by Shri G. Sharan, Former, DG (RD) & SS, MoRTH. The following companies made presentations covering details of their products/materials/technology, application metrology, advantages, etc.

1. “Better Infrastructure for Accident Free Roads from the Automobile Manufacturer’s Perspective. Volvo’s Exclusive Contribution to the World of Road Safety Inventions” by Mr. Tomas Emberg

2. “Selection of Good Polyfibers for PQC with Polyester Perspective” by Shri K.R.S. Narayan, M/s. Reliance Industries Ltd.

3. “Double Mass FWD- Suitable for Good and Damaged Roads” by Dr Bengt Olov Tholen, M/s. Complete Instrumentation Solutions Pvt. Ltd.,

4. “Copper Slag and its Suitability in Infrastructure Applications” by Shri Shiv Kumar, M/s. Sterlite Copper (I) Ltd.

All the presentations were very informative and effective and the same were appreciated by the participants. Thereafter, session was summed up by

the respective Co-Chairman and Chairman of the Session.

Indo-French Joint Working Group (JWG) meeting held on 9th January 2013

In the afternoon, 10th Indo-French Joint Working Group (JWG) meeting was held. In this meeting, Presentations by NHAI representative on ‘Future Projects of NHDP Program and opportunities for foreign companies/ consultant’ & BRO representative on ‘Experiences in Tunneling Projects in India’ were made. In addition, technical presentation from French side on the Tunnel safety issue, slope protection, means of financing and review of IRC on technical on flexible pavement, etc. was made. All the presentations were quite informative and appreciated by participants. In addition, working group also considered and discussed various important issues like development of National Highways with multi-sectoral and multi-modal development with Nodes of development replacing ribbon development as futuristic projects; French experience regarding alternate ways and means of development of arterial highway network especially elevated road corridors; modalities for organizing joint seminar/ workshop on PPP/ Bridges & highways by IRC and Ministry of Ecology (MEDDTL) , Sustainable development, transport and Housing; Implementation of Pilot Projects; Implementation of MOU signed between IRC and MEDDTL. At the end representatives from French companies shared their views and feedback for participation of foreign counterparts in development of National Highways in India.

Expert Talk held on 9th January 2013

In the evening, Expert Talk session on following topics were held in order to keep abreast with the latest technical developments & solutions to the various challenges faced by highway sector:

1. “Moving Ahead in Road Safety in Collaboration with World Bank’s Global Level Safety Fund – Initiatives for India” by Shri Arnab Bandyopadhyay, Senior Transport Engineer, World Bank.

The presentation highlighted that the growing fatalities due to accidents has become a public health burden in India. The World Bank has shown their commitment to road safety in India through funding, partnership, knowledge transfer and building institutional capacity. It was also highlighted that establishing priorities for safety intervention for the most vulnerable part of network, locations, road users is a key to achieve the objective of safety in India. The World Bank indicating that the road safety should be integrated in design stage itself and shown their interest to finance a safe corridor demonstration project itself for practical holistic approach of safety having strategy for targeting a high risk and high volume highway corridor of 50 to 70 km length through evidence base intervention. The World Bank has shown a way forward through various measures which includes setting up crash analysis centers in association with Indian Roads Congress followed by Accidents Research Centers in States.

The presentation also covered the success story of Australia where the accidents were tremendously reduced through effective policy planning and timely intervention, details

World bank’s Mission to address the growing crisis of road deaths and injuries in LMICs, 20+ countries, $500 million investments in road safety; Worlds bank’s initiatives for institutional capacity building; mechanism & formulation of state wise safety coordination cell; creation of Gujarat Project Steering Committee for Road Safety, 2012, Karnataka Traffic and Road Safety Cell, 2011, Kerala Road Safety Authority 2007; initiatives from world bank for safety intervention in planning, survey, design, construction &maintenance, etc & about 6,500 km of highways passing through various States surveyed for Safe Road Investment Plan.

The presentation emphasized the need for integrating safety in engineering designs by making safety audit mandatory for pre & post construction activities, integrating road safety with asset management, improving Codal provision, etc. in addition way forward

by organizing series of capacity building workshops, developing a safety strategy through capacity assessment and enhancement process, demonstration corridor, result oriented trainings at regular intervals; preparation of accident management Plans, Creating Systems as part of multi-pronged strategy; Setting up Crash Analysis Centre in association with IRC. Some of important slides from the Presentations are reproduced below:

2. “best Practice in Australia and other developed nations in Road Sefety Enginerring” Mr. Philip Jordan, Principal Road Safety Consultant, Australia.

Mr. Philip having an experience of 31 years with State Road Authority as a Road Safety Engineer in Australia, has thrown light on the road safety engineering initiatives taken in Australia which worked effectively. He emphasized the importance of engineers in improving road safety and expansion of road safety engineering profession in India as a key answer to the epidemic of road fatalities. He covered the global overview of road safety problem including India. The presentation highlighted that how the Australian experience can be utilized in the Indian context despite the different behaviours of drivers and pedestrians in India from that of Australia. The presentation show that modification of physical road environment using poor processes and techniques of road safety engineering can reduced risk for all road users. The presentation demonstrated that there is a need for road safety engineers in India who think in terms of safety for all road users particularly in an environment where the pedestrian and cyclist are most neglected during planning and designing stage where the critical infrastructure needed for their safety is compromised. This practice needs to change in all emerging countries including India. He presented the success story of Victoria in Australia where strong

national and state leadership duly backed by financial support change the scenario. The presentation covered the key element of Road Safety Engineering processes are contributing towards safer roads in Australia and other national countries. These include adoption of a safety conscious approach to the planning and design of roads (road safety audit); gradual elimination of the most hazardous locations (black spots); improve road side safety; safer work sides; good inter-agency coordination. Some of important slides from the Presentations are reproduced below:

3. “building More Sustainable Transport for Tomorrow” by Ms. Alexandra Pamela Chiang, Transport Specialist, South Asia Regional Department, Manila

The presentation highlighted the need for establishing of sustainable transport appraisal framework which is different from the traditional transport economic appraisal which is currently being practices. It was revealed that although transport is a key enabler of economic and social activities providing excess to opportunities and services. But there are negative impact of the transport viz. congestion, pollution Green House Gas initials and accidents which have huge cost to the society. The presentation highlighted the strategy approved by ADB with focus on inclusive economic growth environmentally sustainable growth and regional integration followed by sustainable transport initiative taken by ADB experts stress that there is a need of hour to account for negative impacts of the transport for assessment of realistic cost of the transport system and establish a sustainable transport appraisal framework to achieve the objective of sustainable transport. The sustainable transport is accessible affordable efficient financially sustainable, environment friendly and safe. As a part of efforts of ADB. The sustainable Transport Framework requires setting sustainable transport criteria in economic, social and environmental terms; developing indicators and methodologies to assess the performance of projects against each of those objectives; measuring the overall sustainability of a project and summarizing all economic, social and environmental assessments in a sustainable transport appraisal matrix. ADB is developing the sustainable transport appraisal on these lines. The major challenge in developing the framework is the measurement of project objectives viz. a viz. the objectives of sustainable transport its monetary consistency, transparency and compatibility in assessing and rating the projects. Some of important slides from the Presentations are reproduced below:

4. “Memorable History and bright Future of bridge Engineering in India” by Dr. V.K. Raina, Technical Director ITNL (IL&FS), New Delhi/Mumbai.

The Presentation traced the history of the development of the Bridges through 35 centuries or so with special reference to architecture and the developmental effect of the cascading comprehension of the sciences of Theory –of-Structures”, Strength-of-Materials and the art -of-Construction-Technology. His presentation commenced with the simplest of the old LOG- and the inter-twined ROPE- Bridges, thence through the pleasing BEAM form, the ever-gracious ARCH form, the magical SUSPENSION form and finally to the momentous CABLE-STAYED form. Some of important slides and technical brief from the Presentations are reproduced below:

As per his presentation the primitive bridge building perhaps started with a trial and error process. In some misty morning of prehistoric past, a human trying to cross a stream, probably saw a fallen tree across it. When he tried to clamber over, it might have broken and dropped him in the drink. So he thought really hard and felled a bigger tree and this took him across. The first primitive single span wooden beam bridge was thus designed and built that day. In reality the modern bridges hardly conceal their ancestry. Vine ropes secured on two towering trees on the opposite banks of a deep gorge, with a bamboo or brushwood deck or even without one, were the earliest forerunners of the suspension bridges. The first arch bridge might have similarly been built about four thousand years back in the Euphrates valley.

The man who creates technology – the engineer, with the aid of the scientist, is the society’s most radical revolutionary. He is the fundamental agent of all social change.

Flat arcular arches appeared in full glory during the renaissance period. Although the first theory of arches came to be established as late as 1695 and was used in practical design only in 1729, the optimum profile of the stone arch had been found very early by artist builders intuitively and has changed very little since. The proven durability of material and the long experience in intuitive proportioning made masonry arch bridges the most popular form of construction even in the early days of railways until iron bridges took over. Arch did continue to be built in iron, steel and concrete because of its unmatched aesthetic qualities, besides structural efficiency.

While stone and timber remained the common building materials for bridges, the mid-nineteenth century demanded stronger and bigger bridges over large rivers for railways. So around 1840 the transition from timber to steel began. In this period cast iron (and later wrought iron) was tried out by bridge builders.

The first recorded Western use of iron in bridges was a chain bridge built in 1734 by the German army across the Odor river in Prussia. However, cast iron was not found very suitable for building large span bridges. A combination of cast iron for compression members and wrought iron for tension members was used in truss bridges from 1840 onwards, specially for railway bridges.

Multiple span girder bridges, arch bridges and cantilever bridges in steel reached very long spans with comparative ease. Howrah Bridge (1943), a steel cantilever bridge with a total length of 457 m, is a typical example of the large crop of outstanding bridges built in steel in the earlier years of the last century.

A very substantial advance in the understanding and theoretical analysis of the load response of the structural system of suspension bridges was made by the twenties of the last century and many elegant bridges were built, like Lindernthal’s Manhattan bridge (1909) with 450m span, followed by Steinman’s 340m span Florianopolis bridge and the Delaware river bridge of 530m span in 1926, to name a few at random.

The big leap forward came in 1931 with the construction of George Washington bridge, which has been acclaimed by Stussi as a “great and most important step in the evolution of the art of bridge engineering”. Le Corbusier was enchanted with this bridge and in his 1937 publication “When Cathedrals Were White” said: “The George Washington Bridge is the most beautiful bridge in the world... It is blessed, the seat of grace.” The bridge broke the I 000m span barrier and its span length of 1060m was double that of Delaware bridge, the then longest span in the world.

Amman’s Verrazano Narrows Bridge in New York was opened in 1964, ten months before he died. Standing with a main span of 1300m, the bridge is a landmark in the history of long span suspension bridge building. These flourished since the thirties, leading to the construction of economical, gracefully slender and ambitious structures in large numbers in all parts of the world.

The lessons in ensuring aerodynamic stability were learnt in a hard way by the tragedy of the 855m Tacoma Narrows Bridge which fluttered and perished in 1940 in a 64 km/h wind. The progress has gone unabated with innovations, like the innovatively stiffened deck

of Severn bridge, to replace the deep stiffening trusses and the future may reveal yet newer directions of development.

In 1820, Navier in opting for the classical suspension system, condemned the cable stayed solution as unsuitable. It remained so until in 1938 Dischinger developed a suspension system which was actually a combination of cable stayed and classical suspension bridge types. The actual development of the modern cable stayed bridge started with the construction of Stromsund bridge in Sweden around 1953 by DEMAG. Then in an unprecedented spurt of development followed the famous Rhine family of cable stayed bridges, which at present number about a dozen with spans up to 300m and more.

Leonhardt hypothecated in his 1972 IABSE Paper that for spans of 750m to 1500m the cable stayed system was technically and economically superior to the classical suspension bridge specially with regard to aerodynamic stability.

The cable-stayed system with a steel or concrete deck will surely find increasing use in many future bridges, from the modest foot-bridge to the mighty vehicular bridges, not only for the slim attractive looks which are no mean virtues, but also as the economically viable alternative to other conventional bridge types.

The demands of the bridge builder and his reliance on scientific knowledge led to the birth of structural mechanics.

Timoshenko in his ‘History of Strength of Materials’ points out: “The construction of the first railroads

greatly affected the development of strength of materials by presenting a series of new problems especially in bridge engineering which had to be solved”. So the midpoint of nineteenth century marked a turning point in the history of bridge building by a change to scientific method of design of bridges and consequently for all structural design.

Stussi remarked in the IABSE Symposium on ‘Concepts of Safety of Structures’ (London, 1969) that the scientific period of design “was introduced by Louis Navier (1785- 1836) who provided the transition to scientifically based construction with his principal work: “Resume des Lecons” (1826) and thereby fundamentally created the applied science of statics”. Navier gave these lessons on ‘the application of mechanics in the establishment of construction and of machines’ in the Royal School of Bridges and Roads (L’Ecole Royale du Ponts et Chaussees), Paris, and some of his students were to emerge as eminent engineers in future years.

After Navier, the development of engineering design was fostered by very many pioneers like Carl Culmann, Otto Mohr, Friedrich Engesser, to name only a few of the giants.

The use of concrete, an artificial conglomerate of gravel or broken stone, sand, and lime or cement, is of great antiquity. Concrete made with ‘surkhi’ has been used in India traditionally. And the glorious history of Roman concrete, used to build such famous structures as the Pantheon, is more well-known. But the art almost went into oblivion until its grand revival in the

recent times marked by the entry of portland cement into the scene.

With the progress of portland cement concrete, it came to be used in bridges as substitute for stone. Concrete was first used for a bridge of l3.5m span across a canal in France in 1840.

The Frenchman Lambot’s famous rowboat 3.30m long ‘made by plastering Roquefort cement on a skeleton network of iron and wire’ was followed by his English patent in 1855. Coigent, another Frenchman, took out a patent at about the same time on the structural use of reinforced concrete. In 1855, Wilkinson secured in England a patent for a concrete arch floor, reinforced with tie bars, which had been discussed by Fairbim in his book (1864). Moiner’s first patent was taken three years later. Many others about this time took patents on reinforced concrete in one form or other, in various lands. Thus in the nineteenth century, reinforced concrete was still in the empirical period of patents.

The search for a basis of rational concrete ‘structure’ design began in the last part of the nineteenth century itself. Thaddeus Hyatt is credited to be the first to establish the basis of analysis of stress in reinforced concrete by stating ‘the principle of bond’ and that ‘the reinforcement must be able to resist sufficient tensile stresses to balance the compressive stresses in concrete’. Hyatt was an American lawyer by education but inventor by nature and was later to take patents on deformed bars. He published his 28-page book on ‘the use of portland cement concrete combined with iron’ in 1877 which may have antedated the design principles to emerge by good two decades.

Koennen, a government architect in Berlin, was commissioned to deduce the methods of computation of reinforced concrete sections and he published his design rules in 1886. Coignet’s ideas on elastic design were printed two years later. Inelastic theories of design, which were to be rejected rather irrationally later, also appeared in 1898.

The days of the patents were ended. Specifications of reinforced concrete materials and design rules were published by professional societies in all advanced countries. The Prussian regulations of 1907 were reported to be most complete set of design rules at that time. In 1909, the joint code of ACI, ASCE, and other professional societies of America, interested in reinforced concrete, made its grand entry. The French Commission on reinforced concrete had formulated its design rules in 1906.

Post-war years saw the fast emergence of reinforced concrete in its full glory. The massive rebuilding of bridges and buildings in war ravaged Europe brought new pressures on the pace of development of reinforced concrete. Higher strengths with higher quality of materials were the obvious avenues open.

The history of a century of development of reinforced concrete materials and methods of making good and better concrete is itself a fascinating ‘subject’. The fundamentals of making good concrete were established firmly by the twenties. Abrams, giving his well-known correlation of water-cement ratio with concrete strength, wrote in 1919: ‘use the smallest quantity of mixing water that will produce a plastic or workable concrete’. With careful control of water and proportioning, attention was focused on ‘workability, placing, and compaction’. Freyssinet proposed ‘compaction by vibration’ in 1917. Alongside came the improvement in composition and fineness of grinding of cement, and the strength of concrete increased.

The big break in the art of reinforcing the concrete came with the introduction of ‘prestressing’. The

idea of prestressing, conceived and put to practice in the 20th century, is the single biggest happening of most significance in the entire history of the art and technology of construction.

A lesser man would have been content with the fame and fortune he had in 1930. But Freyssinet was a man with a mission in his heart. His life carries an obvious message. His bitter struggles for seven long years for the cause of prestressed concrete made history. If history has to have its heroes, here was one for the history of bridges.

Freyssinet took patents in 1928. He was out to sell the history’s most exciting building material, but with no buyers around. He had reportedly told his friend Le Corbusier: “I reached my goal. Now I am looking around to see what I can use this discovery for. And in my opinion modern society needs housing parks and highways.” Le Corbusier was so touched by the sentiments of his friend as to conclude: “into that one short sentence he has crammed a vast wealth of poetry, lyricism, of solidarity, of concern for mankind and the hearts of men”.

Prestressed concrete was introduced in USA in 1949 by Magnel’s Walnut Bridge and at about the same time in India by the Coleroon bridge, using Freyssinet system. Bridge builders revelled in prestressed concrete as it helped them to realise larger and yet larger spans in concrete. As more liked to use steel where it was possible to use concrete, prestressed concrete had to face demands of increasingly larger spans, with improved techniques of design, construction and materials.

In 1960 beam bridges had reached spans up to 160m and Morandi‘s bridge across the Lake Maracaibo was under construction with spans of 235m by the help of stay cables. In 1970, the longest span of beams reached 230m in Japan, and for cable-stayed concrete bridges designs had been made with about 300m spans.

The achievement in building long-span bridges in prestressed concrete are too close to our times to afford a historical perspective. The development of new landmarks in span, form, and Construction technology, is growing at a dizzy pace. The panorama is so vast as to prohibit any attempt to survey all its features in this limited space.

Hamana bridge in Japan also claims attention as one of the best among a growing family of long- span prestressed concrete bridges erected by cantilever construction method. The Hamana bridge has a 240m main span with a central hinge. The originator of this type of construction, double cantilever box beam superstructures built without the use of falsework, which has revolutionised the building of prestressed concrete bridges, is Ulrich Finsterwalder— one of the greatest bridge builders of our times.

A later modification of this method is the cantilever construction with precast segments introduced in the 1963 construction of Choisy-le-Roi bridge in Paris by Enterprises Compenon Bernard. Since then the precast segmental construction in cantilever has gained worldwide acceptance, mainly for the fast erection. In some recent projects in Europe and elsewhere, a fantastic rate of erection of urban viaducts of two or three spans of 35m to 45m in a single week has been reported.

It is an undeniable professional responsibility on the part of a bridge engineer to have the cultural depth of knowing the history of his profession.

On 10th January 2013, three parallel Technical Sessions i.e discussion of ‘General Report on Road Research done in India,; Technical Presentations by Organizations and Research Presentations by officers from HRS, Chennai and Phd Scholars from academic institutes were held.

Technical Sessions held on 10th January 2013

The first Session on theme ‘Research Presentation by Officers from Highway Research Station, Chennai’ was chaired by Shri S.K.Puri, Former Director General (Road Development) & Special Secretary, MoRTH and Co-chaired by K. Ameerdeen Local Organizing Secretary, 73rd Annual Session of IRC & Prof. Veeraraghavan from IIT Madras. During this session, first presentation was made by Er. Ramalingam on ‘Study on Transition from Marshall Mix Design To Super Pave Mix Design Method’. The Presentation contains brief about superpave- Superior Performing Asphalt Pavement System developed in USA; strength and limitation of this method; details of trial mix and performance; current pavement design methods; brief about Marshall Method & requite parameters; issues of Marshall Method; remedies in Superpave; superpave mix design procedure; criteria for aggregate, asphalt binder, optimum asphalt binder content selection, brief about Performance test, superpave mix size designation; consensus requirement; brief on limitations of traditional binder specifications; design particular; Specimen heights; superpave testing criteria for air voids, Voids in mineral aggregate, Voids filled with asphalt, Mixture density characteristics, Dust proportion & Moisture sensitivity, etc.

Second Presentation was made by Shri S. Satheesh on ‘Journey Characteristics of Vehicle in Traffic Stream’, In his Presentation Shri Satheesh covered Statistics about ownership of various types of vehicles; details about Chennai city vehicle population- category- transport, etc; Chennai City Corridors - Volume/ carriageway Capacity; road length details of Tamil Nadu; concept of Level of Service; objective of the

journey time & journey speed study; methodology adopted for this study; various phases of observations like, speed & time observation, video-graphic evidence, details of various instrument like, mobile phones, Speed-o-meter of the test vehicle, Odometer, video used in this study; criteria adopted for corridor selection; data collection mechanism; details of case study of Chennai and Madurai city; properties of corridor i.e. urban & rural stretch; compression of peak hours, nonpeak hours, journey time, wait hour’s data; application of outcomes of study for practical solution; etc.

Thereafter, Shri Sudhakar Senthil made a Presentation on ‘Utilization of Super Plasticizers as admixtures in concrete’. The Presentation highlighted brief about admixtures; areas of application; various kinds of admixtures like water reducing agent, retarders, accelerated, etc; details about high range water reducer or super plasticizers; advantages of super plasticizers; brief about various projects where super plasticizers are used; use of super plasticizers in RMC and pile concreting; precaution in use of super plasticizers; effect of super plasticizers as admixture in concrete; need for study; methodology; properties of super plasticizers; design mix of M25 with super plasticizers and without plasticizers; compression test; result of study, etc.

Toward the end Er. Ramya Devi made a Presentation on ‘Sustainable Concrete in Indian Scenario’. The Presentation covered definition and origin of word Sustainable; brief about Kyoto Protocol; involvement of economic, social, environment factors in sustainable development; cement production capacity of countries like China, India, Iran, USA, Turkey, Japan, etc; Indian statistics about emission of Co2 from 2008 to 2011; sector wise contribution in co2 emission; advantages of sustainable concrete; need for this study; advantages of previous concrete; scope of use of previous concrete in India; various areas of application; provision for replacement/addition of other cementitious materials like Portland cements and blended cements and other Supplementary

cementitious materials like Fly ash, pozzolans, and slag; requirement criteria for aggregate, water cement ration, admixtures; typical range of quantity of various ingredients used concrete mix; research work done for testing of materials, various mix properties, testing & results , brief about carbonation, rate of carbonation; scope for future study, etc.

Thereafter, session was summed up by the Co-Chairmen and Chairman. They briefly gave a gist of all presentations made by officers from Highway Research Station, Chennai.

After tea break, The Session on theme ‘Research Presentation by Ph.D Scholars from Academic institutes’ was Chaired by Shri Chaman Lal, Additional Director General , MoRTH and Co-Chaired by Shri S.N.Das, Additional Director General ,MoRTH. The First presentation was made by Shri C. Naveen Kumar, PhD Scholar IIT Roorkee on ‘Road Safety Analysis for National Highway’. The Presentation brought out statistics of road accident; details of various Govt. initiatives for reducing road accidents; literature review of various methods to predict cashes; advantages & disadvantages various Models like Poisson Negative Binomial, Poisson gamma, Poisson lognormal, Zero-inflated Poisson & negative binomial, Conway-Maxwell-Poisson; identification of research gaps; problem statement; objective of study; research scope to develop crash prediction model; methodology & data flow used for development of crash analysis system; study design, various models developed; expected outcomes; selection of study areas on NH-58; road infrastructure details; composition of traffic; various parameters estimates of frequentist Poisson-Gamma Model; percentage differences between observed and estimated crashes; model output interpretation like, median opening has positive parameter estimating revealing direct effect of crash rate; traffic flow is between LOS B & C, which might be giving low impact on occurrence of crashes, etc.

Thereafter, Shri Sumeet Gupta, Ph.D Scholar, IIT

Delhi made a Presentation on ‘Safety on Work Zones & Speed Management’ ( Selected Case Studies. The Presentation cover statistics on work zone fatalities around globe; work zone traffic crash trend data statistics for USA; case study of NH-28 Audit; Audit checklist for traffic management and field audit; accident rate statistics on site selected on NH-28; compliance comparison; result & conclusion; probability of pedestrian fatality by impact speed; details of case study 2 on NH-2; objective of study; observation and reporting of vehicle speeds in work zones on NH-8 , January 2012; details of vehicles exceeding posted speed limit in working zone; deficiencies in work zone site like non-standard signs & traffic control device; key finding of study; research objective; outcome of research study used as base material for revision of IRC:SP:55; literature review, details of active traffic calming measures; etc.

Shri Dinesh S. Saundappa, B Tech student , IIT Madras made a presentation on ‘ Design Proposal for Modular Interchange at Five Roads Junction, Salem, Tamil Nadu’. The Presentation highlighted brief layout of existing junction; traffic data; problems with junction like, congestion, long existing queue lengths, delayed travel time, FOB facility under construction, etc; Objective of the study is to reduce the number of conflicts in the existing intersection; problems faced in design like, area constraints, lane width constrains, stages applied in design like traffic segregation, reduction in conflict of traffic, provision of ramps, making some roads for one way traffic; comparatives analysis of various advantages at stag 1, 2 & 3; other suggestive possible implementable solution like widening of bus stop, making roads with uniform width; proposed design i.e. three stage modular interchange , etc

At the end, Shri P. Yugananth, ADE, Highway Department, Tamil Nadu & PhD Scholar Anna University made a presentation on “Modeling of Traffic Noise Pollution”. The Presentation covered details of road network of India; effect of urbanization & transportation on increasing various pollutions,

road traffic injuries, climate changes, etc; steps in noise management; brief of WHO guidelines on noise pollution, public health; details about noise pollution, its effect, noise pollution along highways; ambient noise standards in India; various factors affecting traffic noise; mathematical models for predicting traffic noise; details about FHWA model; calculation of Road Traffic Noise (CoRTN) model; STOP and GO model; objective of study to assess noise pattern on highways & to develop , validate noise forecasting model ; methodology used in study; details of various data collected for study; details traffic noise prediction model ; data analysis; conclusion, etc.

Thereafter, session was summed up by the Co-Chairman and Chairman. They briefly gave a gist of all presentations made by research scholars and student and highlighted need road safety, construction work zone safety, modeling on interchange for urban areas, controlling & reducing noise pollution, etc.

Second Parallel Technical Session

The second parallel session for discussion on ‘General Report on Road Research work done in India’ was Chaired by Dr. P.K. Jain, Chief Scientist & Head, Flexible Pavement Division, CRRI, and Co-Chaired Shri T.K. Amla, Senior Principal Scientist, CRRI. During the morning session Presentations were made by Scientists from CRRI giving overall status of road research status in the country. The Presentations were classified in to four categories i.e. Pavement Engineering and Paving Materials; Geotechnical Engineering; Bridge Engineering & Traffic and Transportation. The following Scientists from CRRI made Presentations on various chapters of General Report on Road Research work did in India.

1st Chapter of GR - “Pavement Engineering and Paving Materials – Including Work of Flexible Pavements, Rigid Pavements, Pavement Evaluation, Pavement Performance & Instrumentation” by Shri Binod Kumar

2nd Chapter of GR – “Geotechnical Engineering – Including Soil Stabilization, Landslides & Ground Improvements “by Shri P.S. Prasad

3rd Chapter of GR-“Bridge Engineering” by Dr. Rajeev Garg

4th Chapter of GR - “Traffic and Transportation – Including Highway Planning, Design, Management, Performance Evaluation & Instrumentation” by Shri Ravi Shekhar

After tea break, following presentations were also made during second parallel Session.

“Rigid Pavement Response to Environmental and Traffic Loading Investigated through Instrumentation” by Shri Binod Kumar, Dr. Renu Mathur & Dr. S. Gangopadhyay

Accident Recording Portal for India- Durghatana.org by Shri A. Saurikhia

Thereafter, session was summed up by the Co-Chairman and Chairman.

Third Parallel Technical Sessions

The third Session on ‘Technical Presentations’ by organizations was chaired by Shri D.B.Deshpande, Past President, IRC & Former Secretary, PWD, Maharashtra. The following companies made presentations covering details of their products/ materials/technology, application metrology, advantages, etc.

Presentations by Shri Ajay I. Ranka M/s. Zydex Industries

“Application on Geosynthetics on Road Works” by Mr. S. Vishwanathan, M/s. Asia Fibertex Nonwovens

“Autodesk and Indian Infrastructure” by Mr. Prasad Pandit, M/s. Autodesk

“Protective Coatings for Bridges & Roads in Highway Projects” by Mr. S. Ravichandran & Mr. A. Kanungo, M/s. Berger Paints India Ltd. Kolkata

After tea break, the third parallel Session on theme ‘Research Presentation by Officers from Highway Research Station, Chennai’ was Chaired by Dr. Sunil Bose, Scientist, CRRI (retd.). The following research Presentations were made by Officers from HRS, Chennai.

1. Study on Fibre Reinforced Bituminous Mix” presented by Er. S. Ramalingam, Assistant Chief Engineer, Bitumen Lab, HRS,, Chennai.

2. “Laboratory Study on the Performance of Different Types of Sub grade Soil Treated with Soil Stabilizer” presented by Shri B.J. L.C. Nageswaran, Geologist, HRS, Chennai.

3. “Safe Load Carrying Capacity of Partially Loaded and Partially Settle Pile” presented by Smt. D. Arunah, Assistant Chief Engineer, Soils Lab, Quality Assurance and Research, Guindy, Chennai.

4. “The Effect of Copper Slag as Fine Aggregate in Concrete” presented by Er. Sudhakar Senthil Vasan, Assistant Chief Engineer, HRS, Chennai.

Thereafter, session was summed up by the respective Co-Chairman and Chairman of the Session.

Panel Discussion

In the afternoon, Panel Discussion Session was held on ‘Challenges, Constraints and Strengths – Way forward in Highway Sector – Enhancing Value of Road Sector Assets – Enhancing Safety of Road Users’.

As a curtain raiser and to initiate discussions on the Panel Topic, Shri Santosh Kumar, Shri Karthikeyan and Shri N . Kennedy Officers from Tamil Nadu Police Traffic Warden, Coimbatore City made a presentation. In the presentation they mentioned that the Traffic Warden of Tamil Nadu Police is a volunteer body, are

working for inculcating the vital need of learning the languages of road and how to use it without damaging themselves.They have mainly targetted the practical aspects of the safety for creating the safer roads. The Body apprised the Panel how they are working on the common mistakes committed by the people, specially, the elder in abiding the road rules. The process involved the examination of the concept of 4 E’s that is Engineering, Education, Enforcement and Emergency. For eliminating such mistakes, the area of education was focused based on the premise that if a child is educated on the road using procedures right from his/her school days through fun learning methods, it is very likely that the rules and the safety awareness are strongly registered in their subconscious level that never permit them to break the rule. For this purpose, a team was organized with the name ROAD SAFETY PATROL “RSP”. The presentation brought out the point that to make the roads, accident free is not only in the hands of traffic police, road authorities, but also in the hands of each and every road users. To ensure the responsibility of the road users, they devised a novel way of involving children. The children were trained not to ride on a two wheeler until their father or the person who drive use a helmet. The children were trained to elicit promises from their father to wear helmet. The car drivers were conditioned to the family photos kept in their car to exercise emotional control for not violating the rules.

The Panel Discussion Session on ‘Challenges, Constraints and Strengths – Way forward in Highway Sector – Enhancing Value of Road Sector Assets – Enhancing Safety of Road Users’ was chaired by Shri C Kandasamy, Director General (Road Development) & Spl. Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. The Panelists were Shri Ashok Khurana, Shri P.N. Jain, Mr. Phillip Jordan, Shri G. Sharan, Shri K.C. Mahali, Shri C.S. Prasad, Prof. A. Veeraragavan, Mr. Kiyoshi Dachiku, Shri D.B. Deshpande, Prof. Praveen Kumar, Shri S.M. Ramchandani, Shri S.K. Puri & Shri S.K. Mehta.

73rd Annual General body meeting

The 73rd Annual General Body meeting of the Indian Roads Congress was held on 10th January, 2013. The following Council Members were elected in the meeting:

under Rule - 9-k(i) Six Representatives of Associate Members (from Private Sector)

1. Shri Mohit Verma

2. Shri Parampreet Singh

3. Shri Swatantra Kumar

4. Shri Girish P Joshi

5. Shri Ujjwal Gupta

6. Shri Pravin Kr. Chharia

under Rule- 9-k(ii) Three Representatives of Associate Members (from Public Sector)

1. Shri Vijay Shanker

2. Shri Anil Sharma

3. Shri Rajendra Nath Mishra

under Rule - 9-l One Representative of Institutions primarily engaged in Roads and Road Transport Research who are Associate Members (from Public Sector/Private Sector)

Shri T. Elangovan - NATPAC

under Rule - 9-m One Representative of Engineering universities/I.I.Ts/Engg. Colleges who are Associate Members

No Nomination Received

under Rule - 9-n One Representative from Zilla Parishads, Distt. boards, Panchayat Samitis, Panchayati Raj Departments, Rural Development Departments, Rural Works Department, Rural Engg. Organisations

Shri Binod Kumar Agrawal - Bihar

under Rule - 9-o One Representative of board of Municipalities, Improvement Trusts, Development Authorities and Cantonment Engineers

Shri Brahm Dutt - Rajasthan

under Rule - 9-p(i) The following ten members were elected as Members of the Council by the General body under Rule 9-p(i):

1. Shri K.J. Oza Gujarat

2. Shri K.P. Sivaraj Tamil Nadu

3. Shri P.R. Santhosh Kumar Kerala

4. Shri Sushovan Dasgupta West Bengal

5. Shri Neeraj Saxena Bihar

6. Dr. B. Kanagadurai Delhi

7. Shri K.V.Nagaraja Andhra Pradesh

8. Shri M. Nagaraj Karnataka

9. Shri Jaswant Singh Himachal Pradesh

10. Shri Manoranjan Mishra Odisha

under Rule - 9-p(ii) Two Representatives below 35 years of age

1. Shri Gajendra Kumar Delhi

2. Shri Vikas V. Thakar Maharashtra

under Rule - 9-q One Representative of Mechanical Engineers

No Nomination Received

9-s Two Representatives of Lady Members

1. Miss Shobha Khanna Madhya Pradesh

2. Dr. Purnima Parida Delhi

The following were nominated by their respective administrations as Members of the Council for the next year under Rule 9-(a):

1. Andaman & Nicobar Shri P.K. Singh

2. Andhra Pradesh Nomination Awaited

3. Arunachal Pradesh Shri Bora Ete

4. Assam Shri A.C. Bordoloi

5. Bihar Shri Babban Ram

6. Chandigarh Admn. Nomination Awaited

7. Chhattisgarh Nomination Awaited

8. Daman & Diu Shri Sudhir Chawda

9. Delhi Admn. Shri V.K. Gupta

10. Goa Shri D.J.S Borker

11. Gujarat Shri S.B. Vasava

12. Haryana Shri Mahesh Kumar

13. Himachal Pradesh Shri Pradeep S. Chauhan

14. Jharkhand Nomination Awaited

15. Jammu & Kashmir Shri Mushtaq Ahmad Lone

15. Karnataka Nomination Awaited

16. Kerala Nomination Awaited

17. Madhya Pradesh Shri Prabhat K. Shrivastava

18. Maharashtra Shri S.M. Ramchandani

19. Manipur Nomination Awaited

20. Meghalaya Shri S.B. Chyrmang

21. Mizoram Shri Lianchungnunga

22. Nagaland Shri D. Mero

23. Odisha Shri S.K. Ray

24. Puducherry Shri S. Manohar

25. Punjab Shri Gurbax Rai Bains

26. Rajasthan Shri B.P. Chauhan

27. Sikkim Nomination Awaited

28. Tamil Nadu Shri A. Samuel Ebenezer Jebarajan

29. Tripura Shri Sunil Bhowmik

30. Uttarakhand Nomination Awaited

31. Uttar Pradesh Shri Musrat Noor Khan

32. West Bengal Shri Kousik Banerjee

In addition to the above, the following personnel were nominated as Council Members under the following Rules:

Rule 9-b A Rep. of E-in-C’s Br., AHQ Brig. Sandeep RawatRule 9-c A Rep. of CPWD Shri Ashok KhuranaRule 9-d Director General (Road Dev.) Shri C. KandasamyRule 9-e A Rep. of Director, CRRI Dr. S. GangopadhyayRule 9-f A Rep. of DGBR Shri K.K. Y. MahendrakarRule 9-g A Rep. of Bureau of Indian Standard Shri D.K. AgrawalRule 9-h Past Presidents Shri D.B. Deshpande

Shri Liansanga Dr. V.K. Yadav, VSM

Rule 9-i Immediate Past Secretary General Shri A.K. SharmaRule 9-j Local Organising Secretary Shri K. Ameerdeen Rule 9-r A representative of National Highways Authority

of IndiaShri B.N. Singh

Rule 9-t A representative of the National Rural Roads Development Agency (NRRDA)

Dr. I.K. Pateriya

Rule 9-u A representative of the North Eastern Council (NEC)

Shri P.K.H. Singh

Rule 9-v A representative of the Indian Academy of Highway Engineers (IAHE)

Shri S.N. Das

Rule 9-w A representative of IRF Geneva Shri K.K. KapilaRule 9-x A representative of IRF India Chapter Nomination Awaited

Honouring the Oldest Member present in IRC Session

As per the tradition, IRC honoured oldest members present during the Annual General Body Meeting. Accordingly, Shri Ninan Koshi and Shri M.S. Iyenger were honoured with the presentation of a bouquet, shawl and memento by Shri P.N. Jain, President, IRC and Shri Vishnu Shankar Prasad, Secretary General, IRC during 73rd Business Meeting.

The Secretary General, IRC read out the following Resolution of Thanks at the end of the Business Meeting which was approved with acclamation by General Body.

1. The Indian Roads Congress express their

sincere thanks to the Govt. of Tamil Nadu for inviting Indian Roads Congress to hold the 73rd Annual Session at Coimbatore and for the excellent arrangements made for the success of the Session.

2. The Indian Roads Congress thank Hon’ble Minister for Highways & Minor Ports Department for inaugurating the Technical Exhibition cum Buyer Seller Meet & all other dignitaries who have graced this function.

3. The Indian Roads Congress thank Hon’ble Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways for kindly inaugurating the 73rd Annual Session and we are thankful for his illuminating Address. The Indian Roads Congress also thank the other dignitaries who

have graced this memorable function.

4. The Indian Roads Congress thank Hon’ble Vice-President of India for his greetings and good wishes to the organizers for the success of the Annual Session.

5. The Indian Roads Congress thank Hon’ble Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways for his best wishes for the success of the Session.

6. The Indian Roads Congress thank Hon’ble Union Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways for his best wishes for the success of the Session.

7. The Indian Roads Congress thank Hon’ble Minister of Finance for his best wishes for the success of the Session.

8. The Indian Roads Congress thank Hon’ble Minister of Urban Development & Parliamentary Affairs for his best wishes for the success of the Session.

9. The Indian Roads Congress thank Hon’ble Minister of Home Affairs for his best wishes for the success of the Session.

10. The Indian Roads Congress thank Hon’ble Minister of External Affairs for his best wishes for the success of the Session.

11. The Indian Roads Congress thank Hon’ble Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas for his best wishes for the success of the Session.

12. The Indian Roads Congress thank Hon’ble Minister of Steel for his best wishes for the success of the Session.

13. The Indian Roads Congress thank Hon’ble Minister of Shipping for his best wishes for the success of the Session.

14. The Indian Roads Congress thank Hon’ble Minister for Highways & Minor Ports for his best wishes for the success of the Session.

15. The Indian Roads Congress thank Hon’ble

Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission for sending his best wishes for the success of the Session.

16. The Indian Roads Congress thank Hon’ble Chief Minister of Delhi for sending her best wishes for the success of the Session.

17. The Indian Roads Congress thank Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for sending her best wishes for the success of the Session.

18. The Indian Roads Congress thank Hon’ble Minister of State for Rural Development for sending his best wishes for the success of the Session.

19. The Indian Roads Congress thank Hon’ble Minister of State for Home Affairs for his best wishes for the success of the Session.

20. The Indian Roads Congress thank Hon’ble Lt. Governor of Delhi for his best wishes for the success of the Session.

21. The Indian Roads Congress thank Hon’ble Minister of State of Urban Development for his best wishes for the success of the Session.

22. The Indian Roads Congress thank Hon’ble Minister of State for External Affairs for his best wishes for the success of the Session.

23. The Indian Roads Congress thank Hon’ble Minister of State for Human Resource Development for his best wishes for the success of the Session.

24. The Indian Roads Congress thank Hon’ble Minister of State for Tourism (Independent Charge) for his best wishes for the success of the Session.

25. The Indian Roads Congress thank Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways for his best wishes for the success of the Session.

26. The Indian Roads Congress thank Director General (Road Development) & Special Secretary to the Govt. of India, Ministry of

Road Transport & Highways for his best wishes for the success of the Session.

27. The Indian Roads Congress thank the Principal Secretary, Highways & Minor Ports, Tamil Nadu for his wishes for grand success of this important national event.

28. The Indian Roads Congress thank Secretary to the Governor, Govt. of Tamil Nadu for sending his best wishes for the success of the Session.

29. The Indian Roads Congress thank the Chief Secretary, Tamil Nadu for sending message of good wishes for the success of the Session.

30. The Indian Roads Congress thank Director General & Chief Engineer, Construction & Maintenance, Highways Department, Tamil Nadu for his best wishes for the success of the Session.

31. The Indian Roads Congress thank Shri M. Rajamani, Chairman (Local Organizing Committee), Director General & Chief Engineer, Highways Department, Tamil Nadu and Shri P. Packiam, Chief Engineer for making excellent arrangements for comfortable stay of the delegates.

32. The Indian Roads Congress thank Shri K. Ameerdeen (Local Organising Secretary, 73rd Annual Session), Superintending Engineer, Highways Department, & other members of Local Organizing Committee for their untiring efforts in making the Session a grand success and for the comfortable stay of the delegates.

33. The Indian Roads Congress thank Shri P. Packiam, Chairman and Chief Engineer, Reception & Registration Committee and Transportation Committee; Shri M. Srirangan, Chairman and Spl. Chief Engineer, Technical Exhibition Committee; Shri K.C. Parameshwaran, Chairman & SE, Souvenir and Invitation Committee; Shri G. Sivakumar, Chairman and SE, Press & Publicity Committee; Shri R. Arunachalam,

Chairman and SE, Cultural Programme Committee; Shri E.L. Sathyamoorthy, Chairman & Chief Engineer, Accommodation Committee; and their dedicated team of other members of all these Committees for all efforts in making the Session a great success and for the comfortable stay of the delegates

34. The Indian Roads Congress thank Ms. N. Shanthi, Chairman and other Members of Ladies Programme Committee for making all arrangements for the comforts of the ladies accompanying the delegates.

35. The Indian Roads Congress thank the Management of CODISSIA Trade Fair Complex, Coimbatore for providing their premises for conducting various Technical Sessions.

36. The Indian Roads Congress thank the Director of Tourism, Tamil Nadu for providing interesting tourist literature to the delegates.

37. The Indian Roads Congress thank the Tamil Nadu Police for making adequate police arrangements in connection with the Session.

38. The Indian Roads Congress thank the Coimbatore Municipal Corporation and Coimbatore Development Authority for elaborate arrangements at Coimbatore.

39. The Indian Roads Congress thank the print and electronic media for wide coverage of the proceedings of the Session.

40. The Indian Roads Congress thank various Cultural Organizations who have organised most enjoyable cultural evenings for the delegates.

41. The Indian Roads Congress thank the Fire Services, Tamil Nadu for providing necessary facilities at the venue.

42. The Indian Roads Congress thank the Tamil Nadu State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd. Coimbatore and other Organisations/Departments who have helped in making the Session a grand success.

43. The Indian Roads Congress thank the Directorate of Medical Authorities, Govt. of Tamil Nadu for providing medical facilities to the delegates.

44. The Indian Roads Congress thank the District Administration Coimbatore for making adequate arrangements and assistance for the success of the Session.

199th Council Meeting of the IRC held on the 11th January, 2013

The 199th Council Meeting of the IRC was held on the 11th January, 2013. The following Office Bearers of the Indian Roads Congress were elected for the next term:

President, IRC - Shri C. KandasamyImmediate Past President, IRC - Shri P.N. JainSecretary General, IRC - Shri Vishnu Shankar PrasadVice-President, IRC - Shri S.b. VasavaVice-President, IRC - Shri K.K.Y. MahendrakarVice-President, IRC - Shri A. Samuel Ebenezar JebarajanVice-President, IRC - Shri Swatantra Kumar

Secretaries, Engineer-in-Chief and Chief Engineers Meeting

The meeting of Secretaries, Engineer-in-Chief and Chief Engineers from Central and State Government Departments was also held on the 11th January, 2013 under the Chairmanship of Shri C. Kandasamy, Director General (Road Development) & Special Secretary, MORTH.

Cultural Programme

The Cultural Programme Committee of the 73rd Annual Session, organized variety of cultural programmes for the entertainment of the delegates and their families who rejoiced the evenings after the day’s long hectic technical activities spread over different Sessions.

Ladies Programme

Alongside the Annual Session, Ladies programmes were also organized throughout the day to entertain the spouses and children of the delegates, which provided an opportunity to the ladies to have an insight in to the local culture, etc. A number of competitions were conducted for the spouses who accompanied the delegates. The family members especially children enjoyed a lot and participated in large numbers in the competitions.

Notably among the cultural activities was the talk of Swamy Sukbodananda on the “Management the Life

Better” which was delivered on 9th January, 2013. The talk was huge success which mesmerized the audience for more than two hours. The talk motivated the listeners to the positivities of human life and to realize ones hidden abilities.

Medical Facility during Session

During the Annual Session, a free Medical Camp was also arranged by the State Organizing Committee for the benefit of the participants. Doctors, Nurses and other para-medical staff from leading local hospitals were present to provide medical facilities. About 600 participants availed this facilities and got benefited.

Post Session Tours

As a part of the recreation activity, conducted tour programmes were arranged for the delegates and participants at the end of the Session. The conducted tour programmes were:1. Coimbatore – Madurai – Rameswaram & Back2. Coimbatore – Madurai – Kanyakumari & Back3. Coimbatore – Palani – Kodaikanal & Back4. Coimbatore – Coonoor – Ooty & Back5. Coimbatore – Thanjavur – Veeankanni

A large number of participants enjoyed the hospitality provided by the Government of Tamil Nadu during these Post Session Tours.

TECHNICAL PAPERS

AbSTRACT

The Forest (Conservation) Act (1980) including Forest (Conservation) Rules (2003) prescribe the necessary guidelines for use of forest land for non-forest activities. This Act is a unique piece of legislation in India, which tries to make a balance between “forest conservation” and “economic development”. This Act is regulatory in nature rather than prohibitory. The process of decision making involving diversion of forest land for non-forest activities have also been decentralized, depending upon the area of forest land diversion. The road & highway projects have to face peculiar problem, as the road side plantations, in many of the States, have been declared as “Protected Forest” by the concerned State Government, and these road/highway projects require additional land in these protected forest areas for up-gradation/widening purpose, necessitating the need for “Forest Clearance” which, takes a lot of time and unnecessarily delays the whole project causing the cost overrun. Interpretation of the definition of “forest” by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India has also widened the scope of the applicability of this Forest Act and has also introduced the system of Net Present Value (NPV) of the forest and functioning of Compensatory Afforestation Fund Planning and Management Authority (CAMPA). Further, the decision making process becomes much more complicated, if a road/highway project require both “Forest Clearance” as well as “Prior Environmental Clearance” under the EIA Notification of Sept. 14th, 2006 (as amended in 2009). MoEF has issued several guidelines to deal with such cases.

The present paper discusses in detail the salient features of the Indian Forest Act (1927) and process of “Forest Clearance” as per the Forest (Conservation) Act (1980) [including Forest (Conservation) Rules (2003)] and critically examines the efficacy of the present “Forest Clearance” process. It is expected that the present paper will give various highway professionals an insight in to whole “Forest Clearance” process along with the latest information/guidelines issued by MoEF as well as the rulings of various judicial orders issued by Hon’ble Supreme Court of India on related matters.

ISSuES RELATED TO “FOREST CLEARANCE” FOR ROAD AND HIGHWAY PROJECTS

Dr. Niraj Sharma*, rajNi DhyaNi**, Sumi BiSwaS*** aND Dr. aNil SiNgh****

1 INTRODuCTION

The Constitutional changes made in the 7th Schedule by the 42nd Amendment Act (1976) are a milestone step in the direction of protection of environment. Originally, the subject of “Forests” was included in the “State list” as entry 19. This had resulted into non uniform policy by States towards the conservation, protection and management of the forests. By placing the item “Forest” in the “Concurrent list” as entry 17-A, through 42nd Amendment Act (1976), the Parliament has also acquired the law making powers along with the State(s) on issues related to “Forests”. The Government enacted the Forest (Conservation) Act (1980), which is recognized as a unique piece of legislation not only in our country but also internationally towards the protection, conservation and management of the forests.

Later on various courts (specially, Supreme Court of India), through various judicial orders/clarifications have also helped, and even some cases forced the Government to take appropriate necessary actions towards better management and protection of the forests.

1.1 Conservation, Protection & Management of Forests

As per the current estimates, India has ~ 6, 92,027 km2 of forest cover which is 21.05% of the geographic area of the country, registering an increase over 2003 figure of 20.64% (Table 1). The forest cover includes all lands which have a tree canopy density of more than 10% when projected vertically on the horizontal ground, with a minimum areal extent of one hectare1.

* Principal Scientist,** PhD Research Scholar,*** Research Intern,**** Head,

Environment Sciences Division, CSIR-Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi- 110025.

TECHNICAL PAPERS

Table 1 Status of Forest Cover in India

Class Area (km²) Year 2003

Area (km2) Year 2011

Remarks

Forest Cover(i) Very Dense Forest (VDF) 51,285

(1.56%)83,471

(2.54%)All lands with tree canopy density ≥70%

(ii) Moderately Dense Forest (MDF)

339,279 (10.32%)

320,736 (9.76%)

All lands with tree canopy density between 40% - 70%

(iii) Open Forest (OF) 287,769 (8.76%)

287,820 (8.75%)

All lands with tree canopy density between 10% - 40%

Total Forest Cover 678,333 (20.64%)

692,027 (21.05%)

Includes 4,461 km2 under mangroves in 2003 and 4662 km2 area in 2011

Non- Forest CoverShrub 40,269

(1.23%)42,176

(1.28%)All lands with tree canopy density 70%

Non- Forest 2,568,661 (78.13%)

2,553,060 (77.67%)

Excludes scrubs and includes water bodies

Total Geographic Area 3,287,263 (100.0%)

3,287,263 (100.0%)

Values in parenthesis describes percentage of total geographical area covered under each category of forest

In terms of density classes, areas covered by VDF, MDF and OF are ~ 2.54%, 9.76% and 8.75% of the total geographic area respectively. Area-wise, Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest cover (77,700 Km2) followed by Arunachal Pradesh (67,410 Km2), Chhattisgarh (55,674 Km2), Maharashtra (50,646 Km2) and Odisha (48,903 Km2). Amongst the States, Mizoram with 90.68% of the forest cover with respect to its total geographical area has the largest % of forest cover followed by Lakshadweep (54.56%), Andaman & Nicobar Islands (81.51%), Arunachal Pradesh (80.50%), Nagaland (80.33%), Meghalaya (77.02%) and Tripura (76.07%)1.

2 CONSERVATION, PROTECTION AND MANAGEMENT OF FORESTS IN INDIA

Over the years forests are being cut down and the forest land being diverted legally as well as illegally for non-forest purposes to create new locations for population settlements as well as for various

developmental activities. Government has tried to protect these forests by declaring these forests as “Protected” or “Reserved” and formulating various rules and regulation to safeguard them. Most important amongst them are the Indian Forest Act (1927) and the Forest (Conservation) Act (1980) including Forest Conservation Rules (2003). The salient features/provisions of these Acts have been briefly discussed in following sections:

2.1 The Indian Forest Act (1927)

As per this Act, “Forests” have been categorized into “Reserved Forest” and “Protected Forest”, according to nature and extent of human activities permitted in them. Accordingly, “Reserved Forest” (or RF) is any forest land or waste land which is the property of Government, or over which the Government has proprietary rights, or to the whole or any part of the forest-produce over which the Government claim is entitled. “Reserved Forests” are notified under Section 20 of the Indian Forest Act (1927) or under

TECHNICAL PAPERS

the reservation provisions of the “Forest Acts” of the State Governments. RF has to be constituted and notified by the Concerned “State Government “as per the procedure described under Section 3 to Section 20 of the Act.

Similarly, “Protected Forest” (or PF) is any forest-land or waste-land which is not included in a reserved forest, but which is the property of Government, or over which the Government has proprietary rights, or to the whole or any part of the forest produce of which the Government is entitled. Village Forest (VF) is constituted under Section 28 of the Act by the concerned State Government. The State government may makes rules for regulating the management of these forests, prescribing the conditions under which the community maybe provided with forest or forest produce or pastures, along with their duties for the protection and improvement of such forest. The parcels of land notified as “Village Forest” are marked on the settlement revenue maps of the villages. All the provisions of RF also apply to these forests.

RF and PF differ in one important way. In RF rights to all activities like hunting, grazing, etc are banned unless specific orders are issued otherwise, whereas, in the case of PF, the rights to all activities like hunting, grazing, etc in PF are allowed unless specific orders are issued otherwise. However, RF and PF both are declared by the respectives State Governments.

RFs are often upgraded to the status of “Wildlife Sanctuaries”, which in turn may be upgraded to the status of “National Parks” with each category receiving a higher degree of protection and government funding. For example, land belonging to present Sariska National Park (Rajasthan) was declared a RF in 1995, upgraded to the status of a Wildlife Sanctuary in 1958, becoming a Tiger Reserve in 1978 and subsequently a National Park in 1992. Indian Constitution or the relevant laws do not make any distinction as for as their protection is concerned with

respect to the procedure for the diversion of the forest land for non-forest purposes.

2.2 The Forest (Conservation) Act (1980) (As Amended in 1988)

This Act is a legal mechanism by which the use of forest land for non-forest activities is regulated and optimized. This Act is applicable to whole of India except the State of Jammu & Kashmir, where diversion of forest land is done under Jammu & Kashmir Forest (Conservation) Act (1992). Under this Act, the Forest (Conservation) Rules (2003) (as amended in 2004) have been made. The Act is briefly described in the following Section

2.2.1 Applicability of the Forest (Conservation) Act (1980)

As per the orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India dated December 12th, 1996 in WP No. 202/1995, the term “Forest land” mentioned in Section 2 of the Act not only include “Forest” as understood in the dictionary sense but also any area recorded as forest in the Government record irrespective of its ownership.

According to this definition, RF, PF already notified by the Government [under the different Sections of Indian Forest Act (1927) or under the reservation provisions of the “Forest Acts” of the State Governments] or any area recorded as “forest” in the Government records [i.e., revenue records such as khasra/khitan etc., which includes all those patches of land which were recorded as “forests” (jungle/jhari/chhote bade jhar ka jungle/civil soyam etc) and intimated to Hon’ble Supreme Court of India by respective State Governments and UTs in the above mentioned case] comes under the “dictionary meaning” of the word “forest” (i.e. “a large tract of the land covered with trees and underbrush”)2. Lands which have been notified under Section 4 of the India Forest Act (1927) also come within the purview of the Act3.

TECHNICAL PAPERS

All proposals for diversions of such areas to any “non-forest purpose”, irrespective of its ownership, would require the prior approval of the Central Government i.e. (MoEF). However, the term “forest” shall not be applicable to the plantations raised on private lands, except notified private forests. Nevertheless, the, felling of trees in these private plantations shall be governed by various State Acts and Rules. Felling of trees in notified private forests will be as per the working plan/management plan duly approved by Government of India3.

According to the Act, “Non-forest purpose” means breaking up/clearing of any forest land or portion thereof for cultivation of tea, coffee, spices, rubber, palms, oil-bearing plants, horticultural crops or medicinal plants and any purpose other than re-afforestation. This does not include work relating or ancillary to conservation, development and management of forests and wildlife.

3 PROCEDuRE FOR FOREST CLEARANCE FOR uSE OF FOREST LAND FOR NON-FOREST PuRPOSE(S)

Obtaining forest clearance for use of forest land for non-forest purpose is very tedious and time consuming process due to various technical reasons and incomplete submission of necessary documents by the user agency to and concerned authorities at State and Central Government levels. Delay in obtaining necessary clearances/approvals lead to time and cost escalation. Many a times the necessary clearance (s) (either “Forest Clearance” or “Prior Environmental Clearance” or both, as the case may be) takes about 1-3 years. To tackle this problem, Government of India through Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) has issued several guidelines/clarifications under Forest (Conservation) Act (1980) & Forest Conservation Rules (2003) particularly for road and highway projects. The sole purpose of these guidelines is to avoid any kind of alteration in forest ecosystem and if it is not possible to fully avoid that, then stipulate strict conditions and ensure through

monitoring to minimize any adverse impact on forests. There are certain statutory provisions under the rules and guidelines which have to be followed for obtaining approval4.

Various existing route alignments for State and National Highways/Expressways pass through forest areas/land. As per the existing guidelines, only black topping is permitted on the existing road and any up-gradation consisting of widening of lane or proposal for further acquiring the adjoining forest land (declared as or existing as protected forest) will require “forest clearance” as per the specified procedure. However, MoEF [i.e., Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of MoEF, constituted under Section 3 of the Forest (Conservation) Act (1980)] and Expert Appraisal Committee(s) (EAC/State EACs) are generally reluctant to provide necessary clearances unless justified by technical and other reasons. In fact, a new alignment proposed to be passing through the “forest” is more likely to be rejected than proposals involving widening/expansion of road/highway for which additional Right of Way (RoW) is required, in addition to existing RoW. Many a times, only a small portion/stretch of a long highway/road passes through the forest. In these cases, it is advisable that the alignment should be made in such a way that it does not require additional forest land or even better that completely avoids the forest land (Sharma et al. 2009)5. If additional forest land requirement is unavoidable due to technical reasons, a separate package (i.e. out of the whole package may be considered for the portion likely to pass through the forest land. In this way unnecessary time delays for obtaining Prior Environmental Clearance/Forest Clearance for the whole road corridor/package, including that portion of the corridor which is not under the forest land, can be avoided.

According to the existing procedure, the project proponent has to fill the prescribed Form A related to obtaining forest clearance [seeking approval of the proposal by the State Government and other Authorities under Section 2 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980] that has to be vetted/

TECHNICAL PAPERS

approved by the State Government [through various steps involving approval/recommendation from District Forest Officer/ (Chief) Conservator of Forest/State Forest Department (Part I to Part V of the

Form A for Forest Clearance)] and then finally by the Central Govt. at the MoEF/any other authority, depending upon the area of the forest land proposed to be acquired by the project proponent Fig.1.

Fig.1 Procedure for Obtaining “Forest Clearance under Section 2 of the Forest (Conservation) Act (1980)

TECHNICAL PAPERS

Fig.2 Form-A for “Forest Clearance” (Form Seeking Approval under Section 2 of the Proposal by the State Government and Other Authorities)

TECHNICAL PAPERS

Proposals involving forest land up to 40 ha are sent to the concerned regional offices of MoEF. These offices are situated at Shillong, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar and Bengaluru. In regional offices of the MoEF, proposals involving forest land between 5-40ha are examined by the State Advisory Group (SAG) pertaining to the concerned State/UT. The decision is then taken by the Competent Authority in the MoEF, New Delhi on the basis of the recommendations of the SAG. The Regional Chief Conservator of Forests, who heads the Regional Office, has been empowered to take decisions on proposals involving forest land up to 5 ha except the proposals related to mining and regularization of encroachment. In MoEF at New Delhi, the proposals involving forest land more than 40 ha are examined by Forest Advisory Group (FAC) constituted under Sec. 3 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. The decision is then taken by the Competent Authority in the MoEF on the basis of the recommendations of the FAC. A detailed procedure for obtaining forest clearance requiring approval/recommendation at the State Govt. and Central Level has been shown through flow diagrams in Fig.1 and Fig.2. The documentation to be submitted and initial planning required for “Forest Clearance” has been briefly summarized in Appendix - I

3.1 “Forest Clearance” of Road/Highway Projects Involving “Liner Plantation”

The MoEF has issued guidelines for applicability of Forest (Conservation) Act (1980) on liner plantations for widening/modernization of existing roads6. As per the guidelines issued by MoEF3, where lands which have been acquired by Government Departments like Railway, Irrigation, PWD, NHAI etc. for specific purposes like laying of roads, railway lines and canals and the vacant area has been planted up with trees and these lands are not yet notified as Protected Forests, will not attract the provisions of Forest (Conservation) Act (1980) (Section 2 of the Act related to diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes) for the purposes of widening or expansion or re-alignment. However, the concerned agency will require permission

under local laws, if any, from appropriate authority. However, if these lands which were acquired by the above mentioned departments and the vacant areas were subsequently planted and notified as “Protected Forests” for management purposes, will need approval from the Central Government (i.e. MoEF) under Section 2 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, (1980). In that case, the user agency will have to submit the proposal in the prescribed format (Form A) through the concerned State Forest Department, to the concerned Regional Office of the MoEF. Regional Offices are competent to finally dispose of all such proposals irrespective of the area, preferably within 30 days from the date of receipt of the proposal. While issuing the approval, in place of normal provision for Compensatory Afforestation (CA), the Regional Offices will stipulate a condition that for every tree cut at least two trees should be planted. However, if the decision is not ordered by the concerned Regional Office within 30 days of the receipt of completed application, State/Central Government may proceed with the widening/modernization under intimation to the State Forest Department and Central Government. This guideline is applicable to only such projects, where plantations have been raised on the lands acquired by the user agency and subsequently notified as “Protected Forest”. This guideline will not be applicable, if the forest land involved is Reserved/Protected Forests, for which the normal procedure for “Forest Clearance” will be adopted. The procedure of Forest Clearance for linear plantations for widening and expansion of road projects has been shown in Fig. 3.

3.2 Rejection/Reopening of Cases (MoEF, 2004)

In cases (including cases relating to road & highway projects) where the State Government has been requested by MoEF to furnish clarifications or additional information relating to a proposal, all particulars should be made available to the MoEF within 60 days. If such particulars are not received within a maximum of 90 days, the proposal may be rejected by MoEF for non furnishing of essential

TECHNICAL PAPERS

information. Such cases could be reopened provided (i) all the required information has been made available (ii) delay in providing the information is satisfactorily

explained and (iii) there is no change in the proposal in terms of scope, purpose and other important aspects.

Fig.3 “Forest Clearance” For Cases Related to “Linear Plantation”

4 CONDITIONS FOR FOREST CLEARANCE

Whenever clearance (i.e. Stage-I) is accorded for any road/highway or any other project for diversion/de-reservation of forest land under the provisions (i.e. Section 2) of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, several conditions to minimize impact on forest land are imposed by MoEF 3. These conditions include “General Conditions”, “Standard Conditions” and “Specific Conditions” which are stipulated keeping in view the impact of the project on forest. A brief description of these conditions is given below:

4.1 General Conditions - These Conditions are stipulated in almost all the proposals and are applicable

for all types of projects requiring forest land for non-forestry purpose(s). It includes the following-

(i) Legal status of forest land to remain unchanged

(ii) Compensatory Afforestation (CA) has to be carried out as per the guidelines issued by MoEF from time to time

(iii) Transfer and mutation of non-forest land in favour of Forest Department, if applicable. Further such land has to be notified by the concerned State Govt. /UT as RF/PF under the Indian Forest Act (1927).

TECHNICAL PAPERS

(iv) The forest land which has been diverted/de-reserved cannot be used for any other purpose other than that specified in the proposal (i.e. Form A).

(v) Demarcation of lease area ( i.e. the forest land approved to be used/transferred for the non-forest activity as per the proposal and specified by the project proponent) has to be done by the project proponent at their cost by erecting four feet high reinforced cement concrete pillars with serial numbers, forward & back bearings and distance from pillar to pillar.

(vi) The cost of rehabilitation of “Project Affected Families (PAFs)” (if any) has to be borne by the project proponent/user agency as per the applicable Norms/Acts/Guidelines. General condition may also prohibit construction of labour camp in the forest/diverted forest land or within their vicinity to avoid damage to the forest/forest land and pressure on adjoining areas.

Further, the user agencies are required to make necessary arrangements for alternate fuel to the labourers and the staff working at the site. Further, a project requiring “Forest Clearance” may also require “Prior Environmental Clearance” as per the provisions of the EIA Notification of Sept. 14th 2006 (as amended in 2009). A project proponent will have to get Prior Environmental Clearance from appropriate authority [i.e. MoEF/SEIAA depending upon the category (i.e. “A” or “B”) of the project] as per the threshold criteria specified in the EIA notification. Unless conditions of Stage I Forest Clearance are fulfilled, Stage II Clearance (physical handing over of the forest land to the project proponent for the specified non-forest activities) is not given.

4.2 Standard Conditions - These conditions are stipulated depending upon the type/category of project. For road and highway projects, conditions related to

minimum felling of trees and “Strip Plantation” on sides and central verge are imposed. The number of trees to be felled can be reduced by selecting proper alignment or by way of concentric or eccentric widening (for expansion/widening projects) without affecting its geometric and road safety features. The strip plantation has to be done by following IRC guidelines7 and consultation with the concerned Forest Department.

4.3 Specific Conditions - These conditions are stipulated by the Central Government/State Government keeping in view the impact of the project on forest and are specific to the nature of the project and are stipulated on case to case basis.

The above list of conditions is illustrative. The Central Government or the concerned State Government/UT may impose any other additional conditions in the interest of conservation, protection or development of forests, wildlife and environment.

5 PENAL COMPENSATORY AFFORESTATION

In few cases, the concerned State Government, in anticipation of approval by the MoEF under the Act has diverted the forest land and/or where work has been carried out by the user agency in forest area without proper authority/”Forest Clearance”. Such activities are neither proper nor permissible under the Act which clearly provides for “prior approval” of the MoEF. Proposals seeking “ex-post-facto approval” of the MoEF under the Act are normally not entertained. The MoEF do not accord approval under the Act unless “exceptional circumstances” justifying “condonation”. However, in cases where ex-post facto approval is granted by MoEF, the Penal Compensatory Afforestation is imposed by MoEF over the area worked/used in violation. However, where the entire area has been deforested due to anticipatory action of the State Government, the penal compensatory afforestation is imposed over the total lease area3.

TECHNICAL PAPERS

6 NET PRESENT VALuE (NPV) OF THE FOREST

Project authorities requiring diversion of forest land for other uses have to pay appropriate opportunity cost such as costs of CA, NPV of the land being diverted, and expenses towards mitigating the environmental damages including catchment area treatment, wildlife preservation, biodiversity conservation and rehabilitation of displaced persons, if any.

Net Present Value (NPV) represents the quantification of value of the environmental services provided for the forest area diverted to non-forestry uses as determined by the Central Government (i.e., MoEF) from time to time by appointing an expert committee. NPV refers to “the discounted sum of rupee values of ecosystem goods and services that would flow from a forest over a period of time net of cost incurred”. It does not capture the value of the forest wealth or possible change in it, only the flow of goods and services are taken into account8. Thus, in the context of diversion of forest land to non- forestry use, NPV refers to the loss of value of the forest resources to the stakeholders or the users as at the time of diversion for non- forest use, but it does not include the value either accrued or created by the user agency who uses it for non-forest purposes. Thus, in the estimation of NPV, the positive contribution to society in the form of social and economic terms or contribution to national wealth/benefits by the user agency (as a non-forest user) of the forest land diverted for non-forest purpose(s) is not taken into account.

Indian forest(s) (throughout the country) have been categorized into 16 Categories (i.e. Forest Types) based on the climate, the soil and the vegetation type existing in the forest area. Further, according to tree canopy density over any forest, a forest has been classified into (i) Very Dense Forest (>70% crown density) (ii) Moderately Dense Forest (40%-70%) and (iii) Open Forest (10% - 40%). Degraded forest land with canopy

density <10% has been classified as “Scrub” 1. Further, depending on the ecological functions of these forests, they are grouped into broad6 ecological classes (i.e. Eco-classes)9 (Table 2). Based on the ecological importance of forest falling in different “Eco-value” and “Canopy Density Classes”, the Net Present Value (NPV) per hectare of forest has been fixed by Hon’ble Supreme Court vide orders dated 28 March 2008 and 9 April 2008 (made applicable with prospective effect) for non-forestry use/diversion of forest land. This NPV has been fixed based on the recommendation of the Central Empowered Committee constituted by Hon’ble Supreme Court of India9.

The NPV for forests falling in various eco-value classes and density sub-classes has been given in Table 2. Any project [including road & highway projects being executed by NHAI or State Government(s)] requiring forest land for non-forest use(s) have to deposit NPV calculated on the basis of information provided in Table 3 and the required NPV charged have to be deposited with Compensatory Afforestation Fund Planning and Management Authority (CAMPA), custodian of compensatory afforestation fund which has been constituted by MoEF, Government of India, subsequent to the orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India for the purpose of management of money collected/ recoverable towards CA, NPV and/or any other money from user agencies towards compliance of conditions (Stage-I Approval) stipulated under the Forest (Conservation) Act (1980). Further as per the orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India’s order dated 1 August 2003 in I.A. No. 826 & 859 in I.A. No. 566 in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 202 of 1995 related to the matter of CA fund regarding collection of Net Present Value (NPV), no approval can be granted by MoEF without imposing the condition relating to the payment of net present value of the forest land.

TECHNICAL PAPERS

Table 2 Forests Categorized into broad Ecological Classes

Type of Forest Eco -Classes

Tropical Wet Evergreen Forests Eco – Class ITropical Semi- Evergreen ForestsTropical Moist Deciduous forestsLittoral and Swamp Forests Eco – Class IITropical Dry Deciduous Forest Eco - Class IIITropical Thorn Forest Eco - Class IVTropical Dry Evergreen ForestsSub-tropical Broad Leaved Hill Forests

Eco – Class V

Sub- Tropical Pine ForestSub Tropical Dry Evergreen ForestsMontane Wet Temperate Forests Eco - Class VIHimalayan moist Temperate ForestsHimalayan Dry Temperate ForestsSub Alpine ForestsMoist Alpine ScrubDry Alpine Scrub

Table 3 NPV of Different Eco - Value/Canopy Density Classes*

Eco – value Class

Very Dense Forest

(per ha in Rs)

Dense Forest (per ha in Rs)

Open Forest (per ha in Rs)

Class I 10,43,000 9,39,000 7,30,000Class II 10,43,000 9,39,000 7,30,000Class III 8,87,000 8,03,000 6,26,000Class IV 6,26,000 5,63,000 4,38,000Class V 9,39,000 8,45,000 6,57,000Class VI 9,91,000 8,97,000 6,99,000

* From year 2003-09 NPV rates were Rs.5.8-Rs. 9.2 lakh per Ha10.

The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India vide its order dated 24 April 2008 and 9 May 2008 (202 of 1995 in T.N. Gadavarman Vs Govt. of India) has exempted certain categories of projects (e.g. schools, hospitals, community centers, overhead tanks, laying of under-ground water pipelines having area requirement up to 1ha, and various other projects, with conditions

specified) from payment of NPV. Further, the user agency has to pay NPV equal to ten times in case of National Park and five times in case of Wildlife Sanctuary payable for such areas. In case of non- forest area falling within the national parks and wildlife sanctuaries NPV is to be paid at the rate of NPV payable for the adjoining forest area9.

7 PROCEDuRE FOR ObTAINING ‘PRIOR ENVIRONMENT’ CLEARANCE FOR ROAD AND HIGHWAY PROJECTS INVOLVING ‘FOREST CLEARANCE’

As per the provisions of EIA Notification of Sept. 14th 2006 (as amended in 2009) the road/highway projects comes under the purview of the EIA notification as per the specified threshold criteria as indicated in Table 411.

According to these criteria, any highway project (new as well as expansion/widening project, either National Highway (NH) or State Highway (SH) , which also include Expressways) can be categorized as Category “A” or Category “B” Project if it meets the threshold criteria as indicated in the Table 4. This implies that the project proponent/user agency has to take Prior Environmental Clearance (EC) as per the procedure stipulated in the EIA Notification [which include submission of Form I, Preparation of EIA Report containing summary of Public Hearing (PH) Report, if applicable] either from MoEF (Category “A” Project) or from the concerned State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) (for Category “B” project) before executing the project on field based on the recommendations from MoEF’s Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) or State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) If General Conditions (GCs) as indicated in Table 4 are applicable, in that case the Category “B “ highway projects will become Category “A” project and the user agency will have to take EC from MoEF instead of concerned SEIAA. In the cases where SEIAA has not been formed/not functioning [e.g., Jharkhand, NE States, Uttarakhand etc., (at present)], under this situation, EC cases for these highway projects are considered by MoEF treating them as Category “B” Project12.

TECHNICAL PAPERS

Table 4 Threshold Criteria for Road/Highway Project(s) To be under Purview of EIANotificationofSept.14th, 2006(As Amended in 2009)

Project or Activity

Category With Threshold Limit

Condition(s) (if Any)

A b7 (f) Highways (i) New National

Highways; and

(ii) Expansion of National Highways greater than 30km involving additional ROW greater than 20m involving land acquisition and passing through more than one State.

(i) All New State Highways Projects;

(ii) State Highway expansion project in Hilly Terrain (above 1,000 m AMSL) and or ecologically sensitive areas

General Condition(s) shall apply,

Any project or activity specified in category “B” will be treated as Category A, if located in whole or in part within 10 km from the boundary of:

(i) Protected Areas notified under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972

(ii) Critically Polluted areas as identified by the Central Pollution Control Board from time to time,

(iii) Notified Eco- Sensitive areas by MoEF

(iv) inter-state boundaries and international boundaries

Note: Highways Include Expressways

Although, “Notified Forest Areas” under the Forest (Conservation) Act are not included in GC , implying that they do not have any direct implication related to EC (as per EIA Notification of Sept. 14th 2006, as amended in 2009) as Category “A” or Category “B” project. However, several guidelines have been issued by MoEF related to the projects which require both “Prior Environmental Clearance” (under EIA Notification) as well as “Forest Clearance” (for use of forest land for non-forest purpose) under Forest (Conservation) Act (1980), including Forest (Conservation) Rules (2003) (as amended in 2004). These issues are very much important for road and highway projects, as many a times road/highway passes through or have to pass through “Forest” areas which have been notified as Reserved Forest (RF) or Protected Forest (PF) or comes under the

purview of the definition of “Forest” as stipulated by Hon’ble Supreme Court of India and require diversion of forest land for new construction/alignment or widening/expansion of existing highway(s)/road(s). Further, many states have also declared roadside plantation as PF which makes it mandatory for the user agency, constructing the road/highway, to seek “Forest Clearance” as per the provisions of the Forest (Conservation) Act (1980).

At present, following guidelines are applicable for the road & highway project which require both “Prior Environmental Clearance” as well as “Forest Clearance”:

(i) The proposals for “Prior Environmental Clearance” are not linked with the “Forest Clearances”, as these clearances are independent

TECHNICAL PAPERS

of each other and need to be obtained as applicable to such projects before starting any activity at site. Thus process of taking these clearances should be started separately but may be started concurrently to save the time13.

(ii) However, in specific cases, where “Prior Environmental Clearance” is sequentially dependent on other clearances (including forest clearance) either due to requirement of law or for necessary technical reason(s), other clearances must be taken before applying for the “Prior Environmental Clearance”14.

(iii) It is essential that in these cases, which involve both “Forest Clearance” as well as “Prior Environmental Clearance”, the application for diversion of forestland should be submitted by the project proponent to concerned/designated authority prior to applying for “Prior Environment Clearance”. A copy of the application submitted to concerned nodal officer [as identified under the Forest (Conservation) Act (1980)] for “Forest Clearance” along with all its enclosures should also be submitted along with their “Prior Environment Clearance” application13.

(iv) Further, at the TOR stage presentation, the project proponent is required to submit a credible proof in support of the fact that they have already submitted their application to concerned “Competent Authority” (i.e. Nodal Officer) for diversion of forestland involved in the project14.

(v) At the stage of consideration of proposals for EC (during the final presentation before the concerned EAC/SEAC along with EIA report and public hearing document as per the TOR, provided earlier) the project proponent is again required to inform the respective EAC’s about the status of their application for forestry clearance along with necessary supporting documents from the concerned forest authorities. Further, the project proponent/user agency is

required to provide information to the EAC whether the application is at the State level or at the Central level. The concerned EAC take cognizance of the involvement of forestland and its status in terms of forestry clearance and make their recommendations on the project on its merit. After the EAC has recommended the project for environmental clearance, it is processed “on file” at MoEF/SEIAA for obtaining decision of the “Competent Authority” for grant of environmental clearance, but final clearance by the “Competent Authority” is issued only after the project proponent/user agency submits the requisite Stage-I forestry clearance. During this time, the proposal will be kept in abeyance14.

(vi) In the case where the “Competent Authority” has already approved the grant of environmental clearance, the proponent is informed of the same. A time limit of 12 months which may be extended in exceptional circumstances to 18 months (a decision which is taken by the Competent Authority) is given to project proponent/user agency to submit the requisite Stage-I forestry clearance. The formal environmental clearance will be issued only after the Stage-I forestry clearance has been submitted by the proponent14.

(vii) In the cases where the Stage-I forestry clearance is not submitted by the proponent within the prescribed time limit as mentioned above, but the Stage-I forestry clearance is submitted thereafter, such projects are referred to EAC for having a relook on the proposal on case by case basis depending on the environmental merits of the project and the site. In such a situation, the EAC may either reiterate its earlier recommendations or decide on the need for its reappraisal, as the case may be.

(viii) In the eventuality, a reappraisal is asked for, the EAC simultaneously decide on the requirement of documents/information for reappraisal, as also the need for a fresh PH15.

TECHNICAL PAPERS

(ix) If a project invites forest as well as non-forest land (including road/highway projects), work should not be started on non-forest land till approval of the Central Government (i.e. MoEF) for release of forest land under the Act has been given3.

(x) Road projects are considered in entirety. A road stretch for which DPR is prepared, shall be considered as one project, whether it is passing through one or more districts3, 7.

8 DE-RESERVATION OF THE FOREST LAND

Although declaring an area to be RF, PF or VF lies with the concerned State Government which is done through a gazette notification after following a procedure prescribed under the Indian (Forest) Act (1927). However, the State Government “on its own” or even with the approval of Central Government [(i.e., MoEF) (as per the provisions of the Forest (Conservation) Act (1980) (including Forest (Conservation) Rules (2003)] does not have power of de-reservation of forests, without the approval of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India. The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, in its order

dated 13 November 2003 in WP (Civil) No. 337 of 1995, banned the de-reservation of forests (along with Sanctuaries and National Parks) without its approval. Later on, request of the MoEF (through interlocutory Application IA No.16) to exclude “Forests” from the above order (i.e. list) was not accepted by the Hon’ble Court through the Order dated 09 February 20043, 2.

9 ASSESSMENT OF FOREST CLEARANCE PROCESS

According to a CSE study16, after the enactment of Forest (Conservation) Act (1980), till August, 2011, as many as 23404 projects were granted forest clearance diverting 11.99 lakh ha of forest land (Table 5).

The largest forest area diversion took place on account of regularization of encroachment (~31%) of the development projects, maximum forest land has been diverted for irrigation (14%) followed by power projects (13.7%). The transportation related projects (including both railway and road projects) accounted for only 5.3% of the total forest land diverted (7.6% if forest land for regularization of encroachment is excluded).

Table 5 Forestland Diverted Post - Forest (Conservation) Act (1980) *

Purpose/Sector Forest Land DivertedArea ( ha) (%)

Defence 46570 3.9(5.6)Regularization of Encroachment 368432 30.7(**)Social services 65089 5.4(7.8)Transport (Road, Railways) 63292 5.3(7.6)Power Projects (Hydel, Thermal, Wind & Transmission lines)

164128 13.7(19.8)

Mining 148860 12.4(17.9)Irrigation 167237 14.0(20.1)Others (including industries) 175067 14.6(21.1)Total Forestland diverted 1198676 830244

* From 1981 to August 2011 **Excluding Encroachment 1 Source : CSE (2011)

Out of the ~8.3 lakh ha of forest land diversion (excluding forest land used regularization of encroachments) ~2.0 lakh ha (~25%) was diverted

during the 11th Five Year Plan (FYP) (2007- 2012) (Table 6) at the annual rate (of forest land area diversion) which is equal to the area of tiger reserves

TECHNICAL PAPERS

like Sahadri, Panna and Tadoba16. Madhya Pradesh alone accounts for more than one-third of the forestland diverted post 1980 (enactment of the Forest (Conservation) Act (1980), followed by Chhattisgarh (8.8%), Maharashtra (8.5%) etc. Table 7. The rejection rate of the project proposals involving forest clearance nearly ~6% (Table 8) and it were in 2010 when maximum numbers of projects (i.e., 1938)16 were granted forest clearance.

Table 6 Forestland Diverted for Development Projects*

Period/Year Forest-Land Diverted*(ha.)

1981-92 198421.19

8th FYP (1992- 97) 84587.07

9th FYP (1997- 2002) 147397.57

10th FYP (2002- 2007) 196262.32

2007 22033.78

2008 28509.45

2009 87883.67

2010 43370.38

2011(till august) 22627.78

11th FYP (2007- 2012) 204425.06

Total Forestland Diverted for Development Projects

830244

* Source: CSE (2011)

The above Act always attracts serious debates and discussions about its efficacy in protecting the “forest” without adversely affecting “economic development”. As per the information provided by MoEF2, prior to the Forest (Conservation) Act (1980), forest lands were diverted at the rate of 1.43 lakh hectare/year by various State Governments/UTs, which came down to 0.32 lakh hectare/year. This remained approximately at the same level even after the introduction of the concept of Net Present Value (NPV) in 2002 as per the orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India.

Table 7 Forestland Diversion in States*

States Total forest-Land Diverted (%)

Madhya Pradesh 33.6

Chhattisgarh 8.8

Maharashtra 8.5

Gujarat 6.2

Punjab 5.6

Odisha 4.6

Andhra Pradesh 4.5

Karnataka 4.0

Uttarakhand 3.9

Kerala 3.6

Others 16.7

Table 8 Rejection of Projects* (2007-2010)

Granted FC Rejected Closed, Returned or Withdrawn

Pending with the Government

TotalFinal Clearance

In-Principle Clearance

Number of Projects

19003 (65.12%)

3261 (11.2%)

1769 (6%)

3004 (10.3%)

2143 (7.34%)

29180 (100%)

Thus, it is clear that, while economy grew faster during post-1980 (Forest (Conservation) Act (1980), less forest land was diverted as compared to pre-1980 period when the Act was not in place 2. Further, it is argued that the delegation of powers to the Regional

Offices (RO) of MoEF and State Advisory Groups (SAGs) for taking decisions related to forest diversion cases up to 40 ha and RO of MoEF (up to 5 ha) has proved to be more efficient in terms of time saving for getting “Forest Clearance” by the user agency.

TECHNICAL PAPERS

Nearly 98.8 percent of lands diverted between 1980-2007 were in the category of > 5 ha which were ~25 percent of the total approvals granted during that period and rest (up to 5ha) have accounted for 75 percent of approvals thus reducing the load on SAG (5-40 ha) and FAC (> 40 ha) and accelerating the pace of decision making17.

On the other side, the study carried out by CSE16 have concluded that the present system of granting “Forest Clearance” is not working, as indicated by large percentage of approvals, which are able to get through the whole process, thus defying the main objective of the Forest (Conservation) Act. Moreover, there is an urgent need to further strengthen the monitoring procedures so that compliance conditions indicated in the forest clearance can be better monitored and complied.

10 FORESTS RIGHTS ACT (FRA) (2006)

Another important issue related to forest diversion is the applicability of the “Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act (2006), most commonly referred as Forest Rights Act (2006) or FRA also. This Act has been notified by Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA), Govt. of India. The Act became effective from 1 January 2008 after its notification. This Act recognizes and vests the forest rights and occupation in the forest land to the Forest Dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers, who have been residing in such forests for generations, but whose rights could not be recorded and were forced to relocate their dwellings due to State development interventions. Recently, some of the major projects (e.g. Posco Steel & Vedanta aluminum mining projects in the State of Odisha) who have been granted “Forest Clearance” are facing problems due to non-compliance of various provisions of FRA particularly related to provision relating to approval of Gram Sabha for the diversion

of “forest land” resided by the tribals and traditional dwellers from centuries18.

The main objective of this Act is to give individual property rights to the tribals and other forest dwellers on the forest lands under their occupation for cultivation and dwellings and community rights on forest resources. A most significant feature of the Act is that all these rights are also available in Protected Areas (e.g. Wildlife Sanctuaries and National Parks) too. The Act stipulates that no member of a Forest Dwelling Scheduled Tribe (FDST) or other Traditional Forest Dwellers are to be evicted or removed from forest land under his occupation till the recognition and verification procedure is completed. It also recognizes the right to in-situ rehabilitation, including alternative land in cases, where the Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers have been illegally evicted or displaced from forest land of any description without receiving their legal entitlement to rehabilitation prior to 13 December 2005.

According to this Act, the “Gram Sabha” has been designated as the Competent Authority for initiating the process of determining the nature and extent of individual or community forest rights or both. The free informed consent of the Gram Sabhas and package is to be obtained in writing in the concerned areas of proposed resettlement and no resettlement may take place until facilities and land allocation at the resettlement location are to be completed as per the promised package. It also stipulates that ceiling of occupation of forest land is to be provided for the purpose of recognition of forest rights to the area of actual occupation (not exceeding an area of 4ha). According to the provisions of this Act, forest rights recognized in National Parks and Sanctuaries (renamed as “Critical Wildlife Habitats”) may subsequently be modified or resettled except the resettlement of forest rights holders for wildlife conservation, provided that these habitats may not be subsequently diverted

TECHNICAL PAPERS

for any other purposes by the State or Central Govt. Further, as per the provisions laid down in this Act, the forest rights shall be conferred free from all encumbrances and procedural requirements, including clearance under the Forest (Conservation) Act (1980), requirement of paying the ‘NPV’ and ‘CA’ for the diversion of forest land except those specified in the Act.

However, experience regarding the implementation of this Act over the last five years has not been very encouraging19. As per the MoTA, rejection rates for claims for rights are still very high and rejected claimants are not informed about the reasons for the rejection or given an opportunity to appeal against the rejection. Moreover, when land rights are recognized, the area for which the title is issued is much less as compared to what these people are actually entitled to, forcing a large number of these people to be displaced from their homes. Accordingly, MoTA has requested various State Governments to take necessary actions for its implementation as per the spirit of the law. Important amongst them is the provision of videotaping the “Gram Sabha” Meetings for FRA, specially related to diversion of forest land, to ensure transparency and reduce manipulation and disputes.

11 CONCLuDING REMARKS

The Forest (Conservation) Act (1980) (including Forest Conservation Rules, 2003) provide guidelines for the diversion of the forest land for non-forest activities (i.e. “Forest Clearance”). As for as possible, diversion/request of forest land for non-forest activities (e.g., new alignment or widening/expansion of existing road/highway) should be avoided by any user agency. If that can’t be avoided, the requirement of the forest land should be kept minimum and request for the diversion of the forest land for non-forest activity should be made in prescribed format (Form A) along with the necessary documents/enclosures justifying

the same, as indicated in Fig.2 & Appendix-I. Delay in processing the request for forest land diversion by the user agency at different levels (e.g., State & Central Govt. levels) generally occurs due to incorrect/incomplete submission of documents/enclosures required for further processing the case. A “Check-list”20 of documents/information required during the submission of proposal for diversion of forest land for non-forestry use under Forest (Conservation) Act (1980), (available at www.nromoef.gov.in)20 can also be further referred by the user agency.

Sometimes, area of the forest land proposed to be diverted is not justified or is on higher side than what can be technically or actually required by the user agency. Many times, if an existing road alignment passes through a forest area and now the additional with of the road (i.e. ROW) is proposed to be acquired from the concerned forest department, it is observed that records maintained by the user agency and forest department regarding the forest land already under possession of the user agency (i.e NHAI or PWDs) and the forest land proposed to be diverted, do not match, leading to further delay in processing the case. This discrepancy of the records needs to be sorted out at the earliest for forest land diversion case to be processed at different levels. Without, sorting this issue, user agency is advised not to carry out any construction activity (including site clearing operations) in forest area21. As per the recent MoEF requirement (MoEF circular dated July 8th, 2011)22, all user agencies seeking forest land for non-forest activities are required to submit geo-referenced digital data prepared by using total station or differential GPS. The digital mapping of the area can also be done by the forest department by realizing appropriate cost from the user agency, if the user agency wishes to do so. Other important aspect which any user agency has to take care of, is regarding the submission of details about Compensatory Afforestation (CA) and Penal CA [if there has been violation of the provision(s) of

TECHNICAL PAPERS

Forest (Conservation) Act (1980) by the concerned user agency]. Further, Joint site inspection/visit along with the representatives of concerned user agency and forest department is very important where various details submitted by the user agency in Form A are actually verified in the field and no. of trees likely to be affected/cut are physically counted girth-wise. Based on this site visit, forest department stipulates various conditions while agreeing to transfer the forest land for non-forest activities (Stage-I Forest Clearance or In-Principal Approval Stage). Unless a certificate from the concerned forest department/State Government is received regarding the fulfillment of these conditions, no forest land is actually transferred to the user agency by the forest department (Stage - II of the Forest Clearance).

The Supreme Court of India over the years, through the judicial pronouncements/clarifications have also brought clarity and expanded the scope of “Forest Clearance”. The recent judgment of Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in the case of “Lafarge Mining Case” has further clarified and enhanced the vision and scope of the “Forest Clearance”23. The judgment has clearly stipulated that now on, all the cases of “Forest clearances” must be governed by the “National Forest Policy (1988)”. Further, MoEF has also initiated the process of establishing an independent “National Regulator” [National Environment Appraisal and Monitoring Authority (NEAMA)] to bring about greater professionalism in the appraisal of projects vis-à-vis environment and forestry clearances. Related to the above case, the Supreme Court has also accepted various recommendations of MoEF relating to different aspects of “Forest Clearance” which includes

- process of settling the claims regarding the status of the land being non-forest by the project proponent/user agency,

- expanding the present network of “Six (6)”Regional Offices of MoEF to 10 (Ten),

- constitution of “Regional Empowered Committees”,

- creation and regular updates of a GIS based decision support data base,

- clarifications for the cases when any project require both “Forest Clearance” as well as “Prior Environmental Clearance”,

- preparation of the comprehensive policy for inspection,

- verification and monitoring and overall procedure relating to the grant of “Forest Clearance”

The objective of the present paper is not only to explain and outline the issues related to “Forest Clearance” as envisaged in the Forest (Conservation) Act (1980) [including Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2003] but also to outline the procedure/issues related to obtaining “Prior Environmental Clearance” (or Prior EC) as per the provisions of the “Revised EIA Notification of Sept. 14th, 2006” (as amended in 2009) [issued under the Environment (Protection) Act (1986)], when it involves “Forest Clearance” also for the benefit of various field engineers/highway professionals, so that proper understanding, expertise and awareness about the different aspects of Forest Clearance/Prior Environmental Clearance can be created amongst them which will not only ensure timely completion of the project but will also help in avoiding cost escalations.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Authors are thankful to the Director, CRRI for kindly permitting to publish the present paper.

REFERENCES1. FSI (2011). India State Forest Report 2011, Forest Survey

of India, Ministry of Environment & Forests, Govt. of India.

TECHNICAL PAPERS

2. Singh, C.D.(2009), Obtaining Forest Clearances Under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, Indian Infrastructure Report: Land- A Critical Resource for Infrastructure; pp 66-72

3. MoEF (2004), Handbook of Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 (With Amendments made in 1988), Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2003 (With Amendments made in 2004): Guidelines & Clarifications, Ministry of Environment & Forests, Govt. of India.

4. MoEF (2006), MoEF Notification (Regarding Amendments in EIA Notification of Dept. 14th, 2006, Published in The Gazette of India: Extraordinary Part II) Dated Sept. 14, 2006, Ministry of Environment & Forests, Govt. of India (website: www.envfor.nic.in)

5. Sharma, N., Dhyani, R. and Gangopadhyay S. (2009). “Review of Environmental Laws and their Applicability to Road/Highway Projects”. Journal of the Indian Roads Congress 70(2):165-185.

6. MoEF (1998). Regarding revised guidelines for applicability of Forest (conservation) Act (12980) on Linear Plantations for Widening Modernization (No. 4-1/97-FC Dated February 18, 2012), Ministry of Environment & Forests, Govt. of India.

7. Guidelines on Environmental Clearance for Road Projects (IRC: SP: 93-2011), Indian Roads Congress, New Delhi.

8. Chopra, K. (2006), Report of the Expert Committee on NPV (Professor Kanchan Chopra Committee), Submitted to the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India (May, 2006).

9. CEC (2007), Supplementary Report in IA NO. 826 & IA NO. 566 Regarding Calculation of Net Present Value (NPV) Payable on Use of Forest Land of Different Types for Non-Forest Purposes, Submitted by Central Empowered Committee (Constituted by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India) to Hon’ble Supreme Court of India (January 2nd, 2007).

10. Maharashtra Forest Department website: http://www.mahaforest.nic.in (accessed on 29.05.12)

11. MoEF (2009a), Procedure for Consideration of Proposals for Grant of Environmental Clearance Under EIA Notification, 2006, Which Involve Forestland and or Wildlife Habitat (No. J-11013/41/2006 -IA.II (I) Dated December, 2, 2009), Ministry of Environment & Forests, Govt. of India.

12. Sharma N, Nair P, Gangopadhyay S (2007). Environmental Impact Assessment of Roads Projects: Salient Features Under Revised Notification (September 2006). Journal of the Indian Roads Congress; 68(3):253-270.

13. MoEF (2009b), MoEF Notification (Regarding Amendments in EIA Notification of Dept. 14th, 2006,

Published in The Gazette of India: Extraordinary Part II) Dated December, 1, 2009, Ministry of Environment & Forests, Govt. of India (website : www.envfor.nic.in)

14. MoEF (2011a), Consideration of Proposals for Grant of Environmental Clearance Under EIA Notification, 2006, Which Involve Forestland - Procedure to be Followed – Further Clarification (No. J-11013/41/2006-IA.II (I) Dated September 9, 2011), Ministry of Environment & Forests, Govt. of India.

15. MoEF (2012). Consideration of Proposals for Grant of Environmental Clearance Under EIA Notification, 2006, Which Involve Forestland - Procedure to be Followed – Further Clarifications (No. J-11013/41/2006-IA.II (I) Dated May 18, 2012), Ministry of Environment & Forests, Govt. of India.

16. CSE (2011). “System of Green Clearances not Working for Environment and People and Clearances not the Impediment to Growth: Chapter 7: Forest Clearance”. Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi. (website: cse india.org/userfiles/forest% 20 clearances.pdf)

17. Singh, C. D. (2009), Forest Land Diversion: Balancing Development and Conservation through Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. Indian Infrastructure Report: Land- A Critical Resource for Infrastructure; pp148-156

18. MoTA (2006). The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act. Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India.

19. MoTA (2012). Honorable Minister Correspondences. (website: http://tribal.nic.in) (Accessed on June 1, 2012)

20. MoEF (2012) Check-List of Documents/Information Required For Proposal For Diversion of Forest Land for Noon Forestry Use Under Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. Ministry of Environment & Forests Northern Regional Office, Govt. of India (www.nromoef.gov.in)

21. MoEF (2011b) Revision of para 4.4 of the guidelines on Forest (Conservation) Act, regarding projects involving forest as well as non-forest lands. Ministry of Environment & Forests, Govt. of India Circular Dated March 21st, 2011.

22. MoEF (2011c). Submission of Geo-referenced data for applications under Forest (Conservation) Act (1980). Ministry of Environment & Forests, Govt. of India Circular Dated July 8th, 2011.

23. MoEF (2011d). MoEF Hails Supreme Court order on Lafarge Mining. Ministry of Environment & Forests, Govt. of India. (website: http://moef.nic.in/downloads/oublic-information/lafarge-070711.pdf) (accessed on: 04.06.12).

TECHNICAL PAPERS

Appendix I*

(I) Applicability of Forest (Conservation) Act (1980) [For Obtaining Forest Clearance (under Section 2 of Forest (Conservation Act (1980)] for Diversion of Forest Land for Non- Forest Activities

(i) Reserve Forest (RF)

(ii) Protected Forests (PF) (Irrespective of Land Ownership)

(iii) Patches of Land Recorded in the Revenue Record as “Forests” (i.e. Jungle/ Jhar/ Chhota Bade Jhar ka Jungle/ Civil soyam)

(iv) Cases related to “Road Side Plantation” i.e. ‘Linear Plantation’ which has been declared as ‘Protected Forest’ by the concerned State Govt./ UTs

(v) All Land Diversion Cases Involving Wildlife (Protection) Act (1972) (i.e. Wildlife Clearance) case for ‘Forest Clearance’ processed after obtaining “Wildlife Clearance”

(vi) Land adjoining the Central Ridge Area of Delhi notified as reserved forest having similar morphological features similar to Ridge (I.A. Nos. 1156,with 1192,756,1463 &1532, Order Date: Order Date: 17.10.2006)

(vii) Mangroves in the State of Maharashtra [as per the orders of Mumbai High Court in the Writ Petition Filed by Bombay Environmental Act in Group (BEAG) in July, 2005]

(II) Submission / Scrutiny of Application Form a Recommendation (Concerned State Government/ uT)

(i) Form A (containing five parts) of the Forest (Conservative) Act (1980) (as amended in 2003)

(ii) Part I to be filled by the user agency along with necessary documents/ enclosure/ certificates; Part II to be filled by (concerned Deputy Conservator of Forest); Part III (Concerned Conservator of Forest); Part IV (Principal Chief Conservator of Forest or Head of Forest Department) Part V (Secretary-in-Charge of Forest Department) authorized officer of the state not below the rank of an Under Secretary. (Kindly refer Fig. 2 of the paper for further details)

(III) Forwarding the Recommendations of State Government and Approval from Competent Authority for Diversion of “Forest Land” for Non-Forest Activities

(i) Up to 5ha (MoEF Regional Office)

(ii) 5-40 ha (processed by Regional Office of MoEF, New Delhi) (after consultation with State Forest Advisory Group)

(iii) >40ha (Processed and approved by MoEF on the recommendation of FAC) (Kindly refer Fig. 1 of the paper for further details)

Note :- A road/ highway project passing through two or more district has to be treated as one project. Accordingly, Forest Land in each district has to be separately indicated and whole processing is done treating it as a one proposal

(IV) DetailstobeSubmittedinPartIofthe‘FormA’(tobefilledbyUserAgency)

(i) Project Details: a) Short narrative of the proposal; b) Map showing the required forest land, boundary of adjoining forest land on 1:50,000 scale map; c) Cost of the Project; d) Justification for

TECHNICAL PAPERS

locating the project in forest land/ area; e) Cost benefits analysis report; f) Employment likely to be generated; g) Purpose-wise breakup of the total land required

(ii) Details of Displacement of people (i.e. No. of families, no. of SCs/ STs, Rehabilitation Plan)

(iii) Whether Clearance under EPA (1986) required (i.e. Prior Environmental Clearance)

(iv) Undertaking by the project proponent/ user agency to bear the cost of raising and maintenance of CA/ penal CA

(v) Complete details of alignments examined (to be shown on map with details of area of forest land involved in each case)

(vi) Details of the forest land acquired by the user agency/ project proponent for similar projects in the state

(IV) DetailstobeSubmittedinPartIIoftheFormA(tobefilledbyDeputyConservatorofForests)

(i) Location of project/ scheme: a)State/ union territory; b) District; c) Forest division; d) area of forest land proposed for diversion; e) legal status of forest; e) density of vegetation; f) species-wise and diameter class-wise details of trees; g) Brief note on vulnerability of forest area to erosion; h) approximate distance of proposed site for diversion from boundary of forest; i)Whether forms part of National Park, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve, tiger reserve, elephant corridor, etc.; j) details of any rare/ endangered/ unique species of flora and fauna found in the area; k) location of any protected archaeological/ heritage site/ defense establishment or any other important monument in the area. If so, the details & NOC from competent authority

(ii) Whether requirement of forest land is unavoidable and barest minimum. If no, recommended area item-wise with details of alternatives examined.

(iii) Whether any work in violation of the Act has been carried out. If yes, details of the same to be provided.

(iv) Details of CA scheme: a) Non-forest area/ degraded forest area identified for CA, its distance from adjoining forest etc.; b) Map showing CA afforestation and adjoining forest boundaries; c) Detailed CA scheme including species to be planted, implementation agency, time schedule, cost structure, etc.; d) Total financial outlay for CA; e) certification from competent authority regarding suitability of area identified for CA;

(v) Site inspection report of the DCF

(vi) Division/ District profile: a) Geographical/ forest area of district; b) Total forest area diverted/ CA stipulated in division since 1980 with number of cases; c) Progress of CA on-forest land & non-forest land

(vii) Specific recommendations of DCF for acceptance or otherwise of the proposal with reasons

* For further details kindly refer Forest (Conservation) Act 1980 (as amended in 2003) & www.nromoef.gov.in

TECHNICAL PAPERS

1 INTRODuCTION

Roads play a vital role in the development of a Nation. A progressively growing need is felt to expand the road network to provide/improve access as well as for carrying out Improvement/Up-gradation, rehabilitation and maintenance of the existing roads.

The ever-increasing requirement of Road Infrastructure needs huge investments (both for capacity addition as well as for routine maintenance) which cannot be adequately funded by the budgetary/Governmental supports, alone. Roads compete with other Government priorities e.g., health, education, social security etc. for funds. Thus, there is an urgent need to encourage private sector participation in Road sector by offering higher responsibilities (coupled with returns) by way of equity participation, venture capital or any other mechanism. The challenge before the Engineering community is how to best utilize the limited funding to afford a safe, non-polluting, reliable road transport with a reasonably good level of service. Innovative methods are required in planning, design, highway materials, and methods of construction to optimise investments to meet these basic needs of our growing economy. One of the radical innovations in methods of procurement of works is the Output and Performance Based Road Contracts (OPRC).This paper seeks to put forward the basics of such procurement method.

The Engineers/Technocrats are always on the lookout for newer system of working, new technologies etc. for extracting maximum value for money and improved services to public at large. Several types of procurement methods and formats have been in use since early days, when the works were got executed through

OuTPuT AND PERFORMANCE bASED CONTRACTS - AN OVERVIEW

aNil Kumar Sharma*

Departmental Labour, material etc. The procurement systems and methods have undergone changes to adapt to the changing business environment. A relatively recent system of contracting called the Performance Based Contracting (PBC) has caught the imagination of Engineering fraternity. This form of contracts, called the Performance Based Contracts (PBCs)/Output and Performance Based Road Contracts, differ vastly from the traditional system of EPC contracts.

In the traditional type of EPC contracts, the contractor carries out the work ‘to the satisfaction of Engineer-in-charge’ as per the specified items and specifications. The payments are released to contractor as per the executed quantities based on the agreed rates. The contractor is paid for the “inputs” i.e interventions carried out on the roads, as per directions/specification of the department(s), and is not accountable for “outputs” of the interventions i.e. riding quality, achievement of pavement strength/ resilience, condition/preservation of road assets etc., which are of paramount importance to the road users and to the Department. In fact, the Contractor enjoys a negative incentive, which is to carry out the maximum amount of works, in order to maximize his turnover and profits. Even if the work is carried out according to plan and considerable money is spent, the overall service quality for the road user depends on the quality of the design given to the Contractor who is not accountable for it. In many cases the roads do not last as long as they should because of probable deficiencies in the original design, aggravated by inadequate maintenance.

The road assets are consumed over passage of time and need timely maintenance and other interventions to restore the asset value, failing which there is

* Deputy Project Director (PSRSP), Punjab Roads and Bridges Development Board, SCO 61-62, Phase-2, Mohali

TECHNICAL PAPERS

progressive decline in the levels of service, increased vehicle operating costs, network congestions, reduction in the asset values, reduction in the road user satisfaction and last but not the least loss of public confidence in the Department. The road assets require regular monitoring and timely intervention to prevent the level of service from falling to un-acceptable limits.

2 AbOuT OPRC

The Performance Based Contracts are different from the Long Term Maintenance Contracts, as in the latter case, the payments retained from the Contractor’s payment certificates for original work, are released over time as the maintenance obligations are met by him and bear no relation to the level of service. However, in PBCs, the payment is made to the contractor for meeting the stipulated network performance i.e. payments are directly linked to the levels of service delivered.

The Performance Based Contracts can be purely addressing Routine Maintenance Works and resurfacing on a road network to meet the service requirements or may additionally include payment of some interventions (e.g Improvement/Rehabilitation etc.) on unit rate basis. The latter of contracts are called ‘Hybrid’ type Performance Based Contracts or the Output and Performance Based Road Contracts (OPRC). Such type of contracts are very similar to ‘Design, Build, Maintain, Operate and Transfer’, (DBMOT). The PBC/OPRC may be on Public-Private-Partnership basis or fully funded by the Department.

The Performance Based contracts when used for Routine Maintenance Works contribute immensely to the preservation of road assets. The scope of contract can be tailored according to the requirement of the Department and may include single service (e.g. pothole filling) for relatively short period (say one year) for a ‘Simple’ PBC , to a ‘Comprehensive’ PBC covering complete set of road assets (e.g pavement,

shoulders, side drains, CD works, bridges etc.) for longer periods (5 to 10 years).

In Performance Based Contracts the payments are based upon the measurement of outcome parameters (indicators) in response to the interventions carried out on the road over a period of time. The sustaining of beneficial effects of interventions results in better road asset management. The OPRC contracts thus are also called the Asset Management Contracts.

Depending upon the assets transferred to the Contractors and the scope of PBC, the risks related to interventions e.g. improvement works (adding to the assets), Rehabilitation (maintaining the pavement structure) and resurfacing / routine maintenance works are so apportioned between the Contractor and the Department, that they are handled by the party best equipped for the same.

3 WHY OPRC

Road infrastructure requires huge investments for construction and small lumps of frequent expenditure for maintenance. Govts. generally are not in a position to make available the required levels of funding. Several road infrastructure projects can be accelerated by mobilising private investments in such a manner that it makes a good business sense for private sector as well as leads to the road asset preservation, which is of great importance to the Department. The road user benefit immensely as there is an assured level of service, higher safety and reliability about the facility.

In PBC/OPRC contracts there is change in the relationship between the Department and the Contractor. The Contractor in such contracts is a stakeholder.

The stakeholder profile of a PBC/OPRC in terms of responsibility may be :

● The OWNER of the Road assets in terms of primary responsibility for road infrastructure

TECHNICAL PAPERS

i.e. Ministry of Transport/Public Works Ministry etc;

● The MANAGER of road assets in terms of managing the road network i.e. the Department/Road Agency/Road Administration;

● The OPERATOR in terms of the condition and configuration of the network i.e. Contractor/Contracting Entity, can be a Concessionaire;

In PBC/OPRC contracts the responsibility for adequate and timely intervention is transferred to the Contractor. The road assets are transferred to the Contractor with proper documentation of quantity and quality of road assets at the beginning of the Contract and the Contractor is primarily responsible for carrying out the required intervention as required at site/network for ensuring the compliance of specified network parameters during contract duration. At the completion of the contract, as per the contract provisions the Contractor is responsible to transfer back the network in a pre-decided condition (i.e. road assets having predefined residual life).

Since the payments of Contractor are linked with meeting the network performance parameters, the contractor designs and executes various interventions as per his work program in a manner that meets the performance requirements of the network as well as the durability of such interventions. This network approach results in the maintenance of roads being carried out covering several road assets which may include pavements, shoulders, CD works, bridges, road side furniture etc. This results in better asset management and its preservation vis-à-vis the traditional contracts, and better services to the society at large. This approach encourages innovation in planning and execution for various interventions, on part of contractor and the department can also plan its finances accordingly.

During OPRC contract cycle the Contractor is generally paid only once for the interventions e.g improvement works, Rehabilitation works etc, thus the interventions are adequately designed and constructed

by him. This ensures making best use of strengths of contractor and his design team or in other words i.e. transferring the risk to the Contractor/and his design team for which they are better equipped.

4 ADVANTAGES OF OPRC

In an OPRC contract, the risks associated with carrying out routine maintenance works and/or improvement and rehabilitation works is transferred to the contractor. The contractor rather than just constructing the works also designs the interventions as per the requirements on the network. The issues like adequacy of design, timeliness of intervention and methodology are best handled by the contractor. There are several distinct advantages of OPRC over traditional contracts. The contractor is not “contractor” in traditional sense but is a stake holder and has long term commitment to the works being carried out by him.

OPRCs help in encouraging private investment in improvement/rehabilitation. The contract is encouraged for innovation, as his payments are related to performance of works and meeting of specified output parameters. There is enrichment to the contracting capacity. The contract payments are assured due to greater expenditure certainty of the Department, upon meeting the network parameters.

On part of Department, there are definite cost savings in managing and maintaining road assets as their role now includes monitoring the output/network performance parameters and not supervision of works per se. Due to long term nature of PBC/OPRC contract the response time in addressing the maintenance needs is greatly reduced and frequent calling of tenders/quotations is avoided. In OPRC contracts, the risk of cost over-runs are transferred to contractor and the variation orders are minimised as both the activities e.g improvements/rehabilitation and network performance are covered in the same contract. The un-predictable costs are greatly reduced. The road assets of the department are managed and preserved with contractor being responsible to hand-over back

TECHNICAL PAPERS

the assets at pre-decided quality/residual life of road assets at the end of contract. This allows for better future planning and management.

Further, PBC/OPRCs generate awareness regarding ‘Maintenance’ being a scientific, specialised and innovative procedure which makes a good business sense.

The Road user satisfaction levels increase, as timely interventions are carried out (stitch in time) ensuring enhanced levels of service, safety and reliability of services to the public at large. There is improvement in the living environment due to reduction in the noise and air pollution. There are tangible reductions in the vehicle operating costs and travel delays, which directly contribute to the economy which include residents living near roads.

5 PREPARING FOR A PbC/OPRC IMPLEMENTATION

A PBC/OPRC has following pre-requisites before the method of procurement can be adopted:

a) Identifying the main objective in adopting a PBC, e.g. inviting Private sector participation in road maintenance on long term basis, need to cut costs, improving road users’ satisfaction, better road asset management etc.

b) The inventory of potentially contracted assets and condition must be documented properly and accurately.

c) The risk distribution between the contractor and the Department has to be clearly defined and elaborated to avoid lingering problems (as PBC are generally long term contracts).

d) Identification and defining distinctly the network performance indicators and drawing up methodology to measure/quantify these, as payments are linked to them.

e) Drawing up a preliminary cost estimate to judge the requirements of financial resources.

f) Identifying the needs of improvement/Rehabilitation works required to be included in the scope, if any.

g) Judging the capacity of available contractors to comprehend the OPRC concept and willingness to participate in the bidding process as stake-holder.

h) Adaptation to the change in role of the Department from ‘Supervision of Works’ to monitoring of performance of road assets.

i) Necessary legal, regulatory and institutional framework to be in position.

In an OPRC, since the payments of Contractor are directly linked to the compliance/conformance of the prescribed performance measures, the same are recorded on regular basis by a Conformance Management Unit as per agreed audit cycle by carrying out various surveys, e.g. Condition Surveys, Roughness Surveys, Deflection Surveys etc.

The mechanism for measuring and recording the conformances for OPRC must include:

● Clearly defined Network Performance Measures;

● Objective method to categorically ascertain conformances;

● Regular performance monitoring & reporting during the contract.

The Network Performance Measures/Key Performance Indicators which may be prescribed for a road network are as below:

1. Road User Service & Comfort Performance Measures;

2. Road Durability Performance Measures;

3. Management Performance Measures including Reporting requirements, etc.,

TECHNICAL PAPERS

The Road User Service and Comfort Performance Measures include;

a) Pavement Maintenance

b) Drainage

c) Routine Maintenance of Bridges & other Structures

d) Road side signs maintenance, raised Pavement Markers, Pavement Markings etc.,

Road Durability Performance Measures include monitoring of:

a) Pavement Roughness’

b) Pavement Deflection

c) Roadway Cut and Embankment slopes etc.

The Management Performance Measures may include the following, besides others:

a) Contractor’s forward work programme (s);

b) Inventory database management;

c) Design and Construction Methodology;

d) Contractor Reports, etc.

The type and kinds of Surveys, the methods to carry out the same, the audit cycle (by time duration) etc. are clearly defined in the Contract. Depending upon the contract provisions and the nature of Performance parameter, the Surveys may be carried out on audit lengths (sections) by statistical sampling. The limits of range(s) for the conformance parameters having been met are clearly specified. Based on the non-conformances (and their recurrence, for which penal weighting factors are applied),the due payments to the Contractor are appropriately adjusted.

In OPRC the Contractor is entitled to receive uniform lump-sum payments for the Routine Maintenance/Network Performance Works at agreed regular intervals, linked to his continuing to meet the

performance targets. Thus payment conditions must be evenly balanced to ensure meeting the conformance criteria as well as to ensure adequate fund flow to the contractor.

For meeting the un-foreseen situations on the network, provisioning can be made for Natural Calamities/Emergency Works to timely response and to reduce the need of a variation order.

It is absolutely essential to identify and allocate risks between the Contractor and the Department for smooth functioning of the Contract and to avoid lingering problems. Broadly the risks such as Land acquisition (if required), Forest Clearances, Utilities shifting, unforeseen circumstances e,g, washing away of bridge/major drainage structures, assistance in obtaining statutory clearances are best handled by the Department. The risks such as those associated with the planning, surveying, field investigations, designing of works, ensuring proper drainage, obtaining approvals from the Department, Document Control and progress reporting are best handled by the Contractor. The risks associated with price/currency adjustments are to be separately addressed in the Contract.

6 CONCLuSIONS

The concept of PBC/OPRC is very recent in India, and hardly any experience is available nationally. On international level, the PBCs made their appearance in late eighties and owing to their growing appeal of being ‘Output’(in terms of timely and proactive approach to maintenance, and resulting asset preservation) oriented, this procurement method has gained popularity and is finding wide spread applications all over the globe. Significant achievements have been reported in terms of cost savings by timely maintenance/asset management ranging from 10% to 40%. There is much greater road user satisfaction having direct benefit of improvement in level of service to the society at large.

TECHNICAL PAPERS

The World Bank funded Punjab State Road Sector Project (PSRSP) is in the process of procuring a full Output and Performance Based Road Contract (OPRC) (Asset Management Contract) for Improvement, Rehabilitation, Resurfacing & Routine Maintenance Works of about 204 Km of roads in Sangrur-Mansa-Bathinda Contract Area as a pilot project, reported to be first of its kind in India.

The World Bank funded Andhra Pradesh Road Sector Project (APRSP) is also in the process of procuring long term performance based maintenance contracts (LTPBMC) on the lines of Output and Performance Based Road Contracts (OPRC) for existing roads totalling about 6,241Kms.

Given the long term natures of such contracts, the results of these innovative practices will be interesting to be watched, and lessons learnt for the future.

REFERENCES1. Transport Note no.T- 27 of Sept, 2005, published by the

World Bank.2. Specific Procurement Notice (IFB) for procuring a full

Output and Performance Based Road Contract (OPRC) (Asset Management Contract) for Improvement, Rehabilitation, Resurfacing & Routine Maintenance Works of about 204 Km of roads in Sangrur-Mansa-Bathinda Contract Area.

2. World Bank Project Appraisal Document (Report No. 48235-IN) for APSRP.

3. Proceedings/presentations made during International Workshop on OPRC at Chandigarh, Jan 2011.

TECHNICAL PAPERS

AbSTRACT

A scientific approach to road network design/orientation for development of a hierarchical road network configuration in urban areas is the objective framed in the study. There are two design approaches suggested for the spatial planning of road networks in (transitional) urban area based on the concepts of demand and supply characterisation. The first approach of planning is based on development of Spatial decision support system (SDSS) with a subset analysis for identification of functional paths/corridors in an undefined network configuration. This approach identifies the need for development of self similar fractal road network through hierarchical road network configuration that tends to deconcentrate the demand uniformly over the supply system. The network orientation developed through this approach facilitates intra urban travel, uniform travel through a hierarchical system. The second approach of planning is based on clustering analysis of nodes and identifying the corridors through K-Means clustering technique. The tools in addition to SDSS and k- means clustering techniques used are Satellite imagery, GPS and GIS with module addition.

1 INTRODuCTION

Congestion, risk of travel, uneconomic travel, deficient utility levels of infrastructure and malfunction of infrastructure are the observed facets in today’s urban transportation. Failure is due to lack of relational planning between demand and supply. Measures to alleviate are classified into three broad categories – Supply system measures; demand management measures; and the measures that concern the development of alternative urban structures conducive to the dispersal of economic activities and improved physical integration between activities (Lim Lan Yuan

SPATIAL PLANNING OF HIERARCHIAL ROAD NETWORK uSING GIS bASED SDSS AND K-MEANS CLuSTERING TECHNIQuE

K.m. laKShmaNa rao* aND K. jayaSree**

1997). Urban transport policy should be such that it shall address the problem with an integrated approach considering all the three strategies as mentioned. This study shall attempt on supply side entities to promote functional, hierarchal connectivity and optimal utility of the supply system. Urban planning from the supply side results in less transport intensive, less costly, more efficient and congenial environment with sustainable urban travel (Lim Lan Yuan 1997, Barton et al., 1995; Barnister and Marshall , 2000; ECOTEC, 1993). If the static supply system is fully utilized to meet the dynamic demand, a demand – supply equilibrium can be attained. Hence consolidation of supply entities are made possible by proper orientation of supply system. The objectives are set framed like similarity, uniformity and homogeneity as ultimate objective proposed to attain over a design period.

2 LITERATuRE REVIEW

Studies of modeling in road network/supply system planning can be categorized in ten basic forms : a)Evaluation based planning, b) relational analysis based planning, c) Orientation/structure based planning with geometrical considerations, d) Activity based planning, e) Route based planning with route guidance systems f) Accessibility based planning, g) Land use based planning h) Simulation based planning i) Network equilibrium based planning and j) Conceptual planning.

* Professor in Transportation Engineering, Centre for Transportation Engineering, JNTU College of Engineering Hyderabad, Kukatpally, Hyderabad.** Consultant

TECHNICAL PAPERS

Table 1 Overview of Supply System Planning Approaches

Analysis category Approaches AuthorEvaluation Based Planning Graph Theory Jean Paul Rodriguq 2006, Javier Gutierrez

Puebla 1987 , Domenico Gattuso and Ernesto Marielo 2005

Traffic Characteristics Moses Santha Kumar et al 2006, Wimpy Santosa 2005

Transportation Cost Farbey B.A and Murchand J.D. 1967Performance Characteristics Scott D.M. et al 2005, Satoshi TOI et al

2005Index Approach Erik Jenelius et al 2006, Jennifer Dill

2004 Multi Criteria Bruno Montella et al 1995

Relational Analysis Based Planning

Urban form and Travel Behaviour/Patterns Susan Handy 1996, Jayanthi Rajamani et al 2003, Masuo Kashwadani and Yasao Asakura 1995

Activity Based Planning - Travel Behaviour and Activity Characteristics, Land Use

Xuedon Lu and Eric I.Pas 1999, Kara Maria Kockelman 1996

Orientation/Structure Based Planning with Geometrical Considerations

Topology, Generalization and Measurement of Spatial Structures

Yongmei Lu and Junmei Tang 2004, Micheal T. Gastner and Newman 2006, Feng Xie and David Levinson 2005, Catherine Moreney and Robert Chapleau 2003, Vamsi Kalapala et al 2006

Route Based Planning with Route Guidance Systems

Route Guidance Systems James Campbell 1992

Accessibility Based Planning

Graphical Methods Khaled Al Sahili and Mohammad Abould Ella 1992

Accessibility Index Ahmed M.El – Genediy and David M.Levinson 2006

Simulation Based Planning Cellular Automata Clarke K.C. et al 1997Urban Growth Modeling Sudhira H.S. et al 2003

Network Equilibrium Based Planning

Optimisation Theory Reggiani 1997

Conceptual Planning Road user Concept Daniel B. Staffer 1977 Emergence Concepts Bhanu M.Yerra and David M.Levinson

2005 , Feng Xie and David Levinson 2007Scenario Planning John M. Courtney

The studies on supply system planning promote accessibility and connectivity to the urban areas with an attainment of demand – supply equilibrium with supply system enhancement to meet the demand or

demand management to meet the supply. There is a need for scientific planning considering the user into account to supply system enhancement with existing facility optimization.

TECHNICAL PAPERS

3 CONTExT OF THE STuDY

An improper network design and plan is the major cause for many problems like risk of travel, safety, comfort etc. There is a need to optimize existing facilities to provide improved accessibility and mobility at a satisfactory level of safety and comfort to most of the road users (Moses Santha Kumar et al 2006). Bringing out the similarity of network could solve the problems related to congestion. This can be achieved by properly orienting the network with respect to their functionality and defining the functional classification of roads in a network. This concept deals with the identification of similar characteristics of the nodes, which are clustered and overlaying those clusters in the urban area to improve the connectivity levels.

4 ObJECTIVES OF THE STuDY

Following are the objectives framed in the study.

1. Identification of functional and hierarchical road network from spatial and clustering analysis

2. Development of self similar road network to improve connectivity, mobility and accessibility of road network

3. Static and dynamic analysis of road network and planning through road user concept

4. Corridor planning to facilitate all types of movements at regional level

5. Optimisation of existing facilities to provide improved accessibility and mobility at a satisfactory level of safety and comfort to most of the road users.

6. Development of an integrated model that accommodates the objectives in a spatially explicit planning and decision making environment through the use of GIS

5 ASSuMPTIONS IN THE STuDY

Following are the assumptions framed in the study

1. Traffic analysis zones were assumed to be delineated by ward boundaries for the estimation of OD matrix ie., the origins and destination of an OD matrix are the traffic analysis zones.

2. Each trip made in the study area is equally important, which reflects the characteristics of roads as “Public Roads” – people should be given equal opportunities everywhere

3. The distance path, time path and cost path are assumed to be equal; ie., the impedance factor (distance) considered in the analysis is used in generation of user preferred path.

6 METHODOLOGY

Planning and Design of functional entities of supply systems is considered for the analysis as the topology of functional roads has a more direct and essential impact on overall travel mobility of a road network than that of less functional roads such as local streets and also, since the functional network is smaller than the whole road network and demonstrates clearer patterns that are easier to define and identify (Feng Xie and David Levinson 2007). Moreover, functional roads provide more mobility whereas less functional roads provide more accessibility. These crucial components development and improvement if not planned scientifically reduce reliability, survivability and efficiency of the transport system (Ahmed Abdel – Rahim et al 2007). Hence a scientific framework for supply system planning is designed in this study that strengthens the traffic network which is presented below.

6.1 Approach for Road Network Orientation and Planning through Spatial Decision Support System:

In a centralized and dissimilar spatial road network, alternative routes to reach from one node to another

TECHNICAL PAPERS

routes are less as the topology of the structure is concentrated only on few corridors that are not uniformly distributed spatially. This poses heavy congestion during critical times especially during peak hours. Hence a similar decentralized road structure is preferred that gives a shape of parallel routes longitudinally and transitionally in an area. These paths are termed as longitudinal and transitional corridors in urban areas. Since these paths are highly functional in nature, they shall be configured based on the demand and existing supply characteristics.

Link identification is attempted with a coordinated analysis of supply system characteristics and demand characteristics. The supply system functional links/path which indicate an existing hierarchy and the demand inherent supply links with the network are integrated in a framework of subset analysis to identify the functional corridors. The inherent demand

is assessed through travel demand analysis with static and dynamic supply analyzers. An unforeseen demand is analyzed with static demand analyzers in terms of utility of the link which remains constant irrespective of the dynamic demand patterns. The existing demand is configured by superimposing the dynamic travel patterns on the supply system and analyzing in terms of trip intensity and external trip dominated movements. A user preferred system with static and dynamic analyzers is developed in a spatial decision environment and is coordinated with the existing functional system to identify the links that are functional in nature. The integration of links and nodes falling under the user preferred system is made to form continuous paths/corridors that are similar in nature and thus the framework designed namely Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS) is shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1 Framework for SDSS for Functional Path/Corridor Identification in GIS Interface

TECHNICAL PAPERS

The algorithmic framework for identification of longitudinal and transitional corridors, which can facilitate in achieving link/path similarity is given below:

1. Development of GIS based road network created by coding all the nodes and link with a unique ID.

2. Determination of travel profiles based on demand profiles in the region which includes generation of OD matrix.

3. Static analysis of the spatial structure by identification of user preferred paths.

4. Dynamic assignment of trips to the links identified from static analysis using all-or-nothing assignment technique.

5. Identification of Overlap Size which indicates the inherent utility of the link obtained from the static analysis of the network; and assignment to the road network through static analysis.

6. Development of tools in GIS for module addition.

7. Identification of functional corridors/paths which are subsets and union of the following paths.

a. User preferred paths identified from static analysis between all OD pairs.

b. Paths that are oriented towards external based movements.

c. User preferred paths having high dynamic trip intensity.

d. User preferred paths having high static demand derived from overlap size.

e. Paths that pass through high ordered junctions having maximum trip intensity identified through dynamic assignment of trip.

f. Paths that indicate existing emerged/derived demand i.e., existing major corridors.

The interfacing analysis for SDSS is shown in Fig.2 below. The paths thus identified are categorized as transitional and longitudinal corridors based on the orientation they divide the study area. These roads are connected to transform into continuous corridors which can be made functional thus forming a fractal network as the properties of these paths/links coincide. This approach indentified for development of self similar structure considers network topology and demand cross-sectionally that improves operational performance of a network.

Fig. 2 Interfacing Analysis for SDSS : Identification of Functional Paths

TECHNICAL PAPERS

The modeling framework for development of functional network configuration is presented in the following section.

6.1.1 Modelling Framework - Development of A Hierarchial Road Network Configuration with Path/Link Similarity

Let S be a set of links in the network.

Let S = { S1 , S2 , S3, …… Sn} where n is the number of links in a network.

Let ‘p’ be the number of internal zones and ‘q’ be the number of external zones.

Hence, number of paths identified between internal zones = (p x p ) – p = p(p – 1)

Number of paths between internal and external zones = p x q

Number of paths between external and internal zones = q x p

Number of paths between external zones = (q x q ) – q = q ( q – 1)

Total number of combinations of paths possible between OD pairs which are a subset of S = p (p – 1) + p x q + q x p + q ( q – 1)

Let A be the subset of links for the path of all internal – internal zones. A = {A1, A2, A3, …… An1}, A C S

Let B be the subset of links for the path of all internal – external zones. B = {B1, B2, B3, …… Bn2}, B C S

Let C be the subset of links for the path of all external – internal zones. C = {C1, C2, C3, …… Cn3}, C €S

Let D be the subset of links for the path of all external – external zones.

D = {D1, D2, D3, …… Dn4}, D € S

Here n1 , n2, n3 , n4 € n . The corridors facilitating external corridors are defined by the set of F = {C U D }

Let M be the set of links falling under major corridors in study area. M = { M1, M2, ………..Mm} , m € n

Let T be set of links where the trip intensity is high. In the study area the link is considered to have a high trip intensity when the trip intensity is greater than 60 to 75 percentile value. T = { T1, T2, ………..Tt} , t € n

If k are the number of nodes in the study area which are defined as the intersection points/minor junctions in the study area, ks represent the nodes falling under shortest path analysis. ks € k

Let kd represent the nodes whose trip intensity is high. kd € ks

Let Q represent the set of links connecting the nodes (kd) with high intensity. Q = { Q1, Q2, ………..Ql} , l € n

The higher order road system (H) or arterial system/sub arterial system in the study area is set of links satisfying the one of the following decision criteria.

H = (F) U (M) U (T) U (Q) - Equation 1

H = (F) ∩ (M) ∩ (T) ∩ (Q) - Equation 2

H = (F) U (M) ∩ (T) ∩ (Q) - Equation 3

H = (F) U (M) U (T) ∩ (Q) - Equation 4

H = (F) ∩ (M) U (T) ∩ (Q) - Equation 5

H = (F) ∩ (M) U (T) U (Q) - Equation 6

H = (F) ∩ (M) ∩ (T) U (Q) - Equation 7

H = (F) U (M) ∩ (T) U (Q) - Equation 8

The selection of the equation depends on the intersection of different links in various sets. If for

TECHNICAL PAPERS

example, the set of links falling in F and M are same or almost same, then intersection is adopted. If they are different and only few links are present, then union is adopted.

6.2 Approach for Road Network Orientation and Planning through K-Means Clustering Technique

6.2.1 Conceptualisation of Clustering

The cluster analysis encompasses a number of different algorithms and methods for grouping objects of similar kind into respective categories. There are many clustering algorithms available in literature - Exclusive Clustering, Overlapping Clustering, Hierarchical Clustering and Probabilistic Clustering. In Exclusive Clustering, data is grouped in an exclusive way, so that if a certain datum belongs to a definite cluster then it could not be included in another cluster. Overlapping Clustering uses fuzzy sets to cluster data, so that each point may belong to two or more clusters with different degrees of membership. Hierarchical Clustering is based on the union between the two nearest clusters. The beginning condition is realized by setting every datum as a cluster. Probabilistic Clustering uses a completely probabilistic approach.

6.2.2 K-Means Clustering Technique

This technique has as an input, a predefined number of clusters i.e k, Means stands for an average location of all the members of a particular cluster (Mac Queen (1967)). The value of each attribute of an object represents a distance of the object from the origin along the attribute axes. In order to use this geometry efficiently, the values in the data set must all be numeric. The basic step of K-Means clustering is a simple, iterative procedure, in which a crucial concept is the one of centroid. Centroid is an artificial point in the space of records which represents an average location of the particular cluster. The coordinates of this point are averages of attribute values of all objects that belong to the cluster. Usually this iterative procedure of redefining centroids and reassigning the objects to clusters needs only a few iterations to

converge. The basic concept of clustering is shown in Fig 3 below.

Fig. 3 Basic Concept of Clustering

The flow chart given in Fig.4 describes the algorithmic steps in clustering

Fig. 4 Flow Chart of K–Means Clustering Technique

TECHNICAL PAPERS

7 STuDY AREA

The study area - Gaddiannaram Municipality of Ranga Reddy district, Andhra Pradesh is one of the 10 potential municipalities of Hyderabad. This Municipality is surrounded by the MCH area, Shamirpet, Keesara, Uppal, Qutubullapur, Medchal and Balanagar. Gaddiannaram has an area of 2.2 Sq. Kms., and is divided in to 21 election wards. The Municipality is located on the approximate latitude of N 170-21’ - N 170-22.5’ & longitude E 780 31.5’ - E780 32’. The land use activities are predominantly residential, followed by commercial and educational centres. The municipality is well connected with road and rail network with other parts of the city. There is a lot of Inter and Intra city traffic passing through the Gaddiannaram Municipality. There is no defined functionality of the road systems in the Municipality. The hierarchy is of major and minor roads only. The existing pattern of major road network in Gaddiannaram municipality is Radial type. All other minor roads exhibit a tree and grid type structure. The base map of the study area is enclosed in Appendix.

8 APPLICATION OF METHODOLOGY

The two methodologies suggested above are applied to the study area, Gaddiannaram municipality.

8.1 Approach for Road Network Orientation and Planning through SDSS

ARC GIS 9.1 has been used for the analysis in this study as its capabilities best suit the current study. The GPS control points and the base map generated through the analysis is given in Figs. 5 and 6 in Appendix. The user preferred paths to facilitate all types of movements i.e Internal – Internal, Internal – External, External – Internal and External – External are generated in GIS interface and are given in Figs.7 to 10. The overlay of shortest paths is shown in Fig.11. Trips have been assigned to the links using All or nothing assignment and the link loading is shown in Fig.12 . Static analysis is the generation of paths considering no trip movement between OD pairs. Dynamic analysis is generation and assignment of trips to the links when the trip exists between the OD pairs.

The outputs from the static and dynamic analysis are given in Figs.12 and 13. The road network identified through the SDSS is shown in Fig.14.

Fig. 5 Distribution of GPS Points in Study Area

Fig. 6 Base Map of Study Area

Fig. 7 User Preferred Path Generated for I – I in Static Analysis Static Analysis

TECHNICAL PAPERS

Fig. 8 User Preferred Path Generated for I – E in Static Analysis

Fig. 9 User Preferred Path Generated for E – I in Static Analysis

Fig. 10 User Preferred Path Generated for E – E in Static Analysis

Fig. 11 Overlay of all the User Preferred Paths in Junction Static Analysis

Fig. 12 Link Loading in Static Analysis and Loading from Dynamic Analysis

Fig. 13 Link Loading on User Preferred Paths

TECHNICAL PAPERS

Fig. 14 Road Network Configuration Identified from SDSS

8.2 Approach for Road Network Orientation and Planning Through K- Means Clustering Technique:

Trip intensity of all the nodes falling under the user preferred path and their corresponding overlap size obtained from the static analysis are considered as inputs for this approach. The objective of this approach is group the nodes virtually/cluster them in unique categories. There are 970 nodes in the entire study area out of which 409 junctions fall under user preferred path. Out of 409 nodes, only 126 node categories are found with different trip intensities and Fig. 15. Coding of nodes in Clustering technique

overlap sizes. Hence the categorization now reduces from 409 to 126.

The analysis is attempted in the following steps:

1. Determination of coordinates of the nodes along the user preferred path:

Iteration 0: Each node represents one point with two attributes (X, Y). The trip intensity is taken on X-Axis and junction overlap size is taken on Y-Axis. The coding of the nodes is shown in Fig.15. The graph thus plotted is shown in Fig.16. The coordinates of nodes are measured from the graph and presented in table below:

Table2CoordinatesoftheNodesIdentifiedalongtheUserPreferredPath

Node no x (Trip intensity)

Y (Overlap

size)Node no x (Trip

intensity)

Y (Overlap

intensity)

Y (Overlap

size)15 0.59 0.44 126 0.1 0.56 236 0.18 0.5616 0.93 0.14 127 0.5 0.1 245 0.02 0.5218 0.07 0.66 129 0.09 0.3 250 0.06 0.3221 0.1 0.26 136 0.07 0.44 255 0.11 0.8622 0.25 0.44 137 0.12 0.54 261 0.02 0.5231 0.09 0.48 139 0.09 0.44 263 0.03 0.3634 0.07 0.06 141 0.21 0.56 269 0.05 0.62

TECHNICAL PAPERS

Node no x (Trip intensity)

Y (Overlap

intensity)

Y (Overlap

intensity)

Y (Overlap

size)39 0.12 0.2 142 0.12 0.26 274 0.12 0.141 0.17 0.48 143 0.24 0.3 280 0.06 0.442 0.05 0.52 148 0.05 0.66 283 0.07 0.645 0.06 0.2 149 0.01 0.42 284 0.04 0.3848 0.87 0.16 155 0.17 0.56 295 0.18 0.653 0.06 0.38 160 0.19 0.58 303 0.05 0.1655 0.02 0.52 161 0.02 0.26 305 0.04 0.3257 0.05 0.16 163 0.01 0.42 306 0.13 0.360 0.23 0.26 168 0.06 0.44 309 0.55 0.4863 0.11 0.2 172 0.51 0.22 310 0.69 0.666 0.18 0.22 173 0.09 0.54 314 0.06 0.2468 1 0.1 175 0.08 0.5 318 0.43 0.1874 0.04 0.3 182 0.02 0.16 319 0.01 0.3476 0.07 0.26 185 0 0.28 322 0.06 0.2480 0.06 0.44 186 0.05 0.54 325 0.07 0.482 0.06 0.6 190 0.06 0.52 327 0.02 0.1290 0.06 0.46 192 0.18 0.52 329 0.41 0.1692 0.06 0.3 194 0.01 0.36 332 0.03 0.493 0.09 0.26 197 0.01 0.36 334 0.58 0.4695 0.02 0.3 198 0.11 0.12 340 0.51 0.1698 0.11 0.24 203 0.04 0.34 341 0.57 0.4299 0.61 0.4 205 0.04 0.3 344 0.08 0.74

100 0.04 0.2 206 0.05 0.5 345 0.08 0.76101 0.06 0.34 207 0.01 0.34 350 0.53 0.18102 0.45 0.34 212 0.03 0.34 352 0.13 0.76103 0.01 0.6 213 0.03 0.66 355 0.03 0.48105 0.06 0.62 215 0.02 0.48 359 0.12 0.48108 0.01 0.16 216 0.18 0.68 364 0.12 0.08110 0.39 0.08 217 0.01 0.48 372 0.51 0.12111 0.43 0.3 220 0.08 1 373 0.14 0.06112 0.04 0.62 222 0.06 0.86 377 0.26 0.14116 0.08 0.5 223 0.02 0.2 379 0.72 0.48119 0.09 0.56 224 0.13 1 382 0.36 0.48121 0.04 0.56 232 0.05 0.5 389 0.34 0.14122 0.05 0.22 233 0.4 0.16 407 0.14 0.48

TECHNICAL PAPERS

2. Determination of initial value of centroids:

The values close to origin are considered as centroids. Let us consider the nodes 34, 111, 48, 129 and 103 as the first centroids. Let c1, c2, c3, c4 and c5 denote the coordinate of the centroids.

Table 3 Initial Value of Centroids

Centroid Node no x Coordinate

Y Coordinate

c1 34 0.07 0.06

c2 111 0.43 0.3

c3 48 0.87 0.16

c4 129 0.09 0.3

c5 103 0.01 0.01

Fig.16 Representation of nodes as Coordinates in an Attribute Space

3. Determination of Objects-Centroids distance:

Calculate the distance between cluster centroid to each object which is an important step in any clustering that determines how the similarity of two elements is calculated. This will influence the shape of the cluster. Euclidean Distance is the most common use of distance which examines the root of square differences between coordinates of a pair of objects.

dt/ = x xik jkk

−( )−∑

TECHNICAL PAPERS

Table 4 Distance Matrix for Iteration 0

The distance matrix (D0) at iteration 0 is given above.

Each column in the distance matrix symbolizes the node. The first row of the distance matrix corresponds to the distance of each node to the first centroid and the second row is the distance of each node to the second centroid.

For example,

The coordinates of Node 15 are (0.59, 0.44), centroid c1 are (0.07, 0.06) and centroid c2 are (0.43, 0.3).

The distance between node 15 and centroid c1 is

√{(0.59 - 0.07)2 + (0.44 - 0.06)2} = 0.64,

and its distance to the second centroid c2 is √{(0.59 - 0.43)2 + (0.44 - 0.3)2} = 0.21, Likewise, the distance matrix given in Table 4 is determined between all the nodes and centroids.

3. Objects clustering:

Each object is assigned a group based on the minimum distance. The group matrix (G0) at iteration 0 is shown in Table 5.

TECHNICAL PAPERS

Table 5 Group Matrix of Iteration 0

4. Iteration-1: Determination of new centroids

All the nodes are classified in one of the 4 groups. The centroid for each group is determined from the mean coordinates of the nodes falling under each group. Based on group matrix G0, the new centroid of each group is computed based on these new memberships.

Table 6 New Centroids in Iteration 1

Centroid x Coordinate Y Coordinatec11 0.08 0.12c21 0.50 0.30c31 0.93 0.13c41 0.08 0.45c51 0.06 0.05

5. Iteration-1: Objects-Centroids distances

Similar to step 3, distance matrix (D1) at iteration 1 is shown in Table 7

TECHNICAL PAPERS

Table 7 Objects – Centroid Distance in Iteration 1

6. Iteration-1: Objects clustering:

Similar to step 4, each node is assigned a category based on the minimum distance. The group matrix

(G1) at iteration 1 is shown in Table 8.

TECHNICAL PAPERS

Table 8 Group Matrix in Iteration1

The iteration process is carried out in the similar manner until the group matrix of present iteration is equal to the previous iteration. Then the final grouping is obtained. In the analysis, final group

matrix is obtained at iteration 5, hence the group matrix at iteration 5 is taken as resulting matrix. The corresponding group Table is given in Table below:

Table 9 Node Numbers Falling under Each Group

SNo Group no

Node Numbers Falling under the Group

1 G – 1 21,39,45,53,57,60,63,66,74,76,92,93,95,98,100,101,122,129,142,143,149,161163,185,194,197,203,205,207,212,223,250,263,280,284,305,306,314,319,322325,332,364

2 G – 2 15,99,102,110,111,127,172,233,309,318,329,334,340,341,350,372,382,3893 G – 3 16,48,68,310,3794 G-4 18,22,31,41,42,,55,80,82,90,105,112,116,119,121,126,136,137,139,141,148, 155,160,168,

173,175,186,190,192,206,213,215,216,217,220,222,224,232, 236,245,255,264,269,283,295,344,345, 352 , 355,359,407

5 G - 5 34,103,108,182,198,274,303,327,373,377

TECHNICAL PAPERS

Map showing the categorization of groups is shown in Fig.17.

Fig. 17 Grouping of Nodes using Clustering Technique

Group 1 indicates the nodes having least overlap size and least trip intensity. Group 2 indicates the nodes with high overlap size and least/medium trip intensity. Group 3 indicates the nodes with least/medium overlap size and high trip intensity. Group 4 and 5 indicate the nodes with high overlap size and trip intensity. The primary road system is planned in such a way that it passes through groups 4 and 5 and is shown in Fig.18.

Fig. 18 Road Network Configuration Identified from K-Means Clustering Technique

Fig. 19 Longitudinal and Transitional Corridors Identified in the Study Area

9 FINDINGS FROM THE STuDY

Following are the findings obtained from the study.

1. 18 % of the trip movements were found to be internal – internal and the remaining 82% of the trips are external based trips

2. The road density is varying from 23 km/sq.km to 28 km/sq.km in the municipality which indicates the non uniformity of road length distribution

3. 37.18 km of road length is observed as the user preferred path. Out of 54.5 km of road network in Gaddiannaram municipality, 68% of the road length is used in shortest path in static analysis.

4. 95 % of the road length obtained from the approach using SDSS has matched with the approach using K-means clustering technique. The arterial roads have found to be more coinciding in both the approaches.

10 CONCLuSIONImprovement of the mobility based on access and hierarchy is the objective that has been accomplished in the study. The planning and design proposed in the study will be supportive in the smooth transition of the sprawl to an urban fabric. The study advocates the idea that, when the capability of new construction of roads is limited, a thoroughly designed road systems that fills the sprawl space better and improves the accessibility

The longitudinal and transitional corridors identified from the analysis are shown in Fig.19.

TECHNICAL PAPERS

within the area can provide a larger transportation capability to serve more people and a better economy. The Arterials and Sub arterial systems are well defined in urban areas but in transitional urban areas /sprawls like the study area, the road functionality is not defined. This study has presented an approach for defining the functionality of road network using SDSS and k-means clustering technique. These hierarchial systems are recommended to form the main structure in the Municipality. Thus they facilitate all the major movements/interactions in the municipality. The study has given a lead to the scientific planning in the municipality from road user perspective.

REFERENCES1. Ahmed Abdel Rahim, Paul Oman; Brian Johnson

And Matthew Benke; Sandeep Butapati, And Rakesh Kalidindi 2007. Modeling urban surface transportation network dependability and security. National Institute for Advanced Transportation Technology, University of Idaho final report

2. AHMED M.EI.GENEIDY and DAVID M.LEVINSON, 2006. Access to Destinations: Development of Accessibility measures. In Research Report Published by Minnesota Department of Transportation, Minnesota

3. BARNISTER , D. and MARSHALL, S. 2000. Encouraging Trasnport Alternatives : Good Practice in Reducing Travel. The Stationary Office, London.

4. BARTON, H.; DAVIES, G. and Guise , R, 1995. Sustainable Settlements – A guide for Planners, Designers and Developers. Local Government Management Board, Luton.

5. BHANU M. YERRA, DAVID M.LEVINSON. 2005. The emergence of hierarchy in transportation networks. In Annals of regional science, Vol 39, pp: 541-553.

6. Bruno Montella et al 1995. A network design model through congested multi modal traffic assignment . 7th WCTR Proceedings, Volume 2.

7. CATHERINE MORENCY and ROBERT CHAPLEAU. 2003. Fractal geometry for the characterization of urban – related states: Great Montreal Case. In Harmonic and Fractal Image Analysis. pp.30-34.

8. CLARKE K.C, HOPPEN S AND GAYDOS L, 1997. A self – modifying cellular automation model of historical urbanization in the San Francisco Bay area. In Environmental and Planning B: Planning and Design. Vol 24.PP 247-261.

9. DANIEL B. STAUFFER . 1977. Nonassisted Private Suburban Development. In Journal of The Urban Planning And Development Division, Proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol.103, No. UP1.

10. DOMENICO GATTUSO and ERNESTO MIRIELLO. 2005. Compared Analysis of Metro Network Supported by Graph Theory. In Networks and Spatial Economics, 5:395-414

11. ECOTEC 1993. Reducing transport emissions through land use planning. HMSO, London.

12. ERIK JENELIUS, TOM PETERSEN and LARS – GORAN MATTSSON, 2006. Road network vulnerability : Identifying important links and exposed regions. In Proceedings of Transportation Research Arena., Goteborg, June 12 – 15, 2006

13. FARBEY B.A AND MURCHLAND J.D.1967. Towards an evaluation of road system designs. In Regional studies, Vol.1. PP 27-37.

14. Feng Xie & David Levinson, 2005. “Measuring the Structure of Road Networks,” Working Papers 200702, University of Minnesota: Nexus Research Group

15. FENG XIE and DAVID LEVINSON - 2007 – Topological Evolution of Surface Transportation Networks. In Proceedings of 86th Annual Meeting of Transportation research Board, January 2007, Washington D.C

16. Gastner, M. T. and Newman, M. E. J. (2006), “The spatial structure of networks”, Eur. Phys. J. B , Vol. 49, pp. 247–252.

17. JAMES F.CAMPBELL, 1992. Selecting Routes to Minimize Urban Travel time. Transportation Research B, Vol.26B, No. 4 , PP 261-274.

18. JAVIER GUTIERREZ PUEBLA,1987. Spatial Structure of network flows: A graph theoretical approach. In Trans. Res-B, Vol.21B, PP 489-502.

19. JAYANTHI RAJAMANI, CHNADRA R.BHAR, SUSAN HANDY, GERRITT KNAAP and YAN SONG. 2003. Assessing The Impact of Urban Form Measures In Nonwork Trip Mode Choice After Controlling For Demographic And Level-Of-Service Effects. Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting www.its.berkeley.edu/publications /ITSReview online/spring2003/trb2003/handy-assessing.pdf. Accessed June 2007

20. Jean Paul Rodrigue 2007 . Network Data models. The geography of Transport Systems

21. Jennifer Dill (2004). Measuring network connectivity for bicycling and walking. TRB 2004 Annual meeting.

22. JOHN COURTNEY M. 1976. Developing Alternative Futures. In Journal of The Urban Planning And Development Division. Vol 102, No. UP 1, pp 49- 68

23. KARA MARIA KOCKELMAN . 1991. Travel behavior as a function of accessibility, land use mixing and land use balance: Evidence from the San Francisco Bay area. In Master’s Thesis , University of California, Berkeley.

24. KHALED AL-SAHILI and MOHAMMAD ABOUL-ELLA. 1992 . Accessibility of Public Services in Irbid, Jordan. In Journal of Urban Planning and Development, vol.118, No.1, Paper No.1738.

TECHNICAL PAPERS

25. Lim Lan Yuan . 1997. A case study on urban transportation development and management in Singapore. Second International Expert Panel Meeting on Urban Infrastructure Development, Bangkok, Thailand.

26. Masuo Kashiwadani and Yasao Asakura 1995. Urban growth and traffic environment under a road network constraint. 7th WCTR Proceedings. Vol.2. Sydney Australia.

27. MOSES SANTHAKUMAR S, G.GOKULDAS and P.PARTHEEBAN. 2006. Transportation system management for Madurai city using GIS. www.gisdevelopment.net/application/util i ty/transport/mi03189pf.htm. Accessed February 2006

28. Reggiani 1997. Towards new models and approaches in a European transport perspective, Journal of Transport Geography, Volume 5, Issue 1, March 1997, Pages 55-56

29. SATOSHI TOI, TETSUNOBU YOSHITAKE, YOSHITAKA KAJITA AND HIROSHI TATSUMI. 2005. Evaluation of Trunk Road Network in Fukuoka City Region using Inter- Nodes Distance Index. In Memoirs of the Faculty of Engineering, Kyushu University, Vol.65.No.3

30. SCOTT D.M.,NOVAK.D AND AULTMAN HALL.L, AND GUO.F April 2005. A new method for identifying

critical links and evaluating the performance of Transportation networks. In Working Paper Series 009 of Centre for Spatial analysis, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

31. SUDHIRA H.S, TOVO RAMACHANDRA AND K.S. JAGADISH.2003. Urban Sprawl Patterns Recognition and Modeling Using GIS. In Proceedings of Map India 2003, New Delhi

32. SUSAN HANDY, 1996. Methodologies for exploring the link between urban form and travel behavior. In Transportation Research – D, Vol 1, No. 2, pp 151 – 165.

33. VAMSI KALAPALA, VISHAL SANWALANI, AARON CLAUSET and CRISTOPHER MOORE. 2006. Scale invariance in road networks. In American Physical Society Physical review. E 73, 026130.

34. XUEDONG LU and ERIC I. PAS. 1999. Socio-Demographics, Activity Participation And Travel Behavior. In Transportation Research Part A, Vol.33, PP(1-18).

35. YONGMEI LU and JUNMEI TANG. 2004. Fractal dimension of a transportation network and its relationship with urban growth: a study of the Dallas – Fort worth area. In Environment and Planning B : Planning and Design, Vol 31, PP 895-911.

Government of India Ministry of Road Transport & Highways

1, Parliament Street, Transport Bhawan,

New Delhi- 1100 01

RW-22012/01/2012-Mech Dated: the 18th Dec, 2012

To, 1. All Chief Engineers of the States and Union Territories, dealing with National Highways. 2. The Director General Border Roads, Seema Sadak Bhawan, Delhi Cantt, New Delhi 3. The Chairman, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), New Delhi 4. The Secretary General, Indian Roads Congress, New Delhi 5. The Director, Indian Academy of Highway Engineers, Noida

Subject: Use of Recycling technology for PR (Periodic Renewal) works on National Highways.

In supersession to Ministry’s circular No. RW/NHVI-67(10)/85 dated 16.10.1985 on the subject “Recycling of bituminous surfacing- Introduction of the technique of” the following circular is issued.

2. To strengthen the reaches overlay is considered, which requires fresh aggregates and bitumen. The level of road surface rises after overlay. Due to rise in level of road surface the level of adjacent structures such as footpath and median kerbs have to be raised. In urban areas overlay is generally associated with other infrastructure improvement works.

3. However for maintaining the reach with periodical renewal, recycling may be a better option than an additional renewal course. The restrictions on mining have necessitated the requirement to conserve aggregates. There is also a need to conserve bitumen by reusing it wherever feasible. As such, efforts are required to adopt suitable technology which will be helpful in the conservation of natural resources. Recycling can be one such technology.

4. Recycling technology is a part of Ministry’s Specifications for Road and Bridge Works. Resurfacing of Bituminous surface by Hot-in-Situ Recycling/Central Plant Recycling was also recommended in the Chief Engineer’s Meeting at the 197th Mid-term Session of IRC at Kohima.

5. In view of the inherent advantages of recycling technology, Recycling of bituminous surface on at least 10% of stretches which are otherwise structurally sound, may be proposed for PR works (Periodical Renewal) on National Highways.

6. It is suggested to select a stretch of 30-50 km (which may not be continuous) of two lane Highway, if necessary by clubbing the reaches. Proportionately minimum stretches for 4/6 etc. lane may be calculated. Recycling of the existing bituminous wearing course can be considered where the existing thickness of the bituminous layer is at least 100 mm. Thickness/depth of recycling shall be the thickness of existing wearing course and the treated finished wearing course shall be of the same specifications and thickness as that of the existing wearing course (such as SDBC, BC etc).

This circular is issued with the approval of the competent authority.

Yours sincerely, Sd/-

(K.C. Sharma) Superintending Engineer (Mech)

.For Director General (RD) &Special Secretary

Government of India Ministry of Road Transport & Highways

1, Parliament Street, Transport Bhawan,

New Delhi- 1100 01

RW-22012/02/2012-Mech Dated: the 4th Jan, 2013

To 1. The Principal Secretaries/Secretaries of all States/U.Ts. Public Works Department dealing with National

Highways, other Centrally Sponsored Schemes and State Schemes. 2. The Engineers-in-Chief and Chief Engineers of Public Works Departments of States/U.Ts dealing with

National Highways, other Centrally Sponsored Schemes and State Schemes. 3. The Chairman, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), G-5&6, Sector-10, Dwarka,

New Delhi- 110 075. 4. Director General (Border Roads), Seema Sadak Bhawan, Ring Road, New Delhi- 110 010. Subject: Mechanised Patching.

Road maintenance including pothole/ patch repair is required to ensure public safety, repair of defects and to ensure required level of service. Inadequate and improper road maintenance at the time of creation of potholes generally leads to deterioration of roads which result in higher vehicle operating costs, increased number of road accidents and reduces the reliability of transport services. Introduction of mechanized repair is considered essential in order to have faster and long lasting repair. Also mechanized repair will be more reliable and lasting than non mechanised means of repair.

2. Pothole/Patch repair is a part of Ministry’s Specifications for Road and Bridge Works. Mechanised repair of potholes was also discussed in the Chief Engineer’s Meeting at the 197th Mid-term Session of IRC at Kohima and recommended that at least 10% of the stretch to be repaired using machinery under OR (Ordinary Repair) in each State.

3. Mechanized patching machine containing all the required materials/equipment may be considered for efficient, immediate patching to avoid deterioration.

4. Mechanized patching machine should contain the following in the single unit.

(i) Jack hammer/hand tools suitable for the purpose of removal of the defective material. (ii) Provision of Compressed air to remove dust and loose particles. (iii) Filling the pothole with graded material as per specifications. (iv) Facility/ Arrangement for preparation of mix. (v) Arrangement for Tack/prime coat. (vi) Arrangement for Compaction with vibratory walk behind roller/plate compactor etc. (vii) Traffic control equipment.

5. Mechanized patching can be undertaken through any of the following technologies. (a) Emulsion based cold mix technology

(b) Emulsion based cold mix through High velocity jet technology (c) Infrared technology.

(d) Any other technology

Any of the above mentioned technologies is required to be approved by the employer for patching, from cleaning to the stage of making it road worthy.

6. In view of the above at least 10% of the stretches to be repaired may be identified and proposed for Mechanized patching under OR (Ordinary Repair) in each State.

This issues with the approval of the competent authority.

Yours sincerely, Sd/-

(K.C. Sharma) Superintending Engineer (Mech)

For Director General (RD) &Special Secretary

Yours faithfully, Sd/-

(Maya Prakash)Deputy Secretary to the Government of India

indian highway feb 2013

road sector

shahjahan road

planning of road projects

indian roads congress

secretary general

contents issn

originality of contents

irc website

Documents

ha and hma index map wyoming · interstate highway us...

highway engineering australia v47.5 feb-march 2016

indian highway

bureau of indian affairs indian highway safety program ·...

indian weekender 13 feb 2014

feb. - may 2016 indian railway technical bulletin

feb update the fluid highway

smq analysis for indian two wheeler industry - feb'14 issue

bureau of indian affairs indian highway safety...

indian highways feb 2014

cape henlopen to indian river inlet - national oceanic and...

bureau of indian affairs indian highway safety program...

5410 indian head highway - loopnet...10100 business parkway...

mtc global biography of indian management educators,...

indian highway management company limited (ihmcl) limited

at indian academy of highway engineers, a-5, sector – 62

indian highway iv - mac lyon · indian highway is stopping...

indian down under e paper jan - feb 2012

officers - microsoft...feb 05, 2016 · feb. 4—blood...

fy 2014 highway safety plan · the united states department...